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Physioj\l and Medical Topography, 



INCLUDING 



Vital, Manufacturing and Other 

STATISTICS, 



— 01- 



THE CITY OF WHEELING. 



I JAMES E. REEVES, M. ])., 

li'iv Hf.ai.ih Om'KKR ; Aithok of a Pkactkal Ikkatisk on 
Entkkic or Typhoid Fever ; Corresponding Mem- 

HKR OK THE PaTHOLOGICAI. SorrKTY 

OF Philadelphia, etc. 



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(PRINTED BY ORDEK OF THE CITY COUNCIL.) 



I 



W PI E E L 1 N (?•:* 

DAILY EEGISTEE ECOK AI^D JCE OFFICE, OPPOSITE McLUEE HOUSE 

1870. 



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Class ra^ 3 

Book. __^1X 



THE 



a \j a ly v lu ij 



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I N C L I' I) I N <i 

VITAL, MANUFACTURlNf; AND OTHER 
STATISTICS 



OF ■ 



THE CITY OF WHEELINCt. 



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1? V 



JAMES K. REEVES. M. D., 

(■.,Y Hkaiih Oim.ik: Aithor of a Pka<:tuai, 'Irkatisi-: on 
Km IKK OR 'rviiioiD 1-iviK ; C'(>RRi-si>v.M'iN(; Mkm- 

ISKK 01' -IlIK I'aIHOI.OCICAI. SoClKTV 
()|- PhII ADKI rillA. ICTC. 



a-UlNTKD IIY 0RD1:H 1>K THK CITY COUNCIL' 



W II KK I.lNCi: 

DAILir REGISTER BOOK AND JOB OFFICE, OPPOSITE McLURE HOUSE. 

1870. 



5v L 5'c^ 



"Dry and unattractive as Sanitary Studies may appear, they belong to the patriot no less than 
the philanthropist; they touch very nearly the future prosperity and national greatness of Eng- 
land. Don't faii.'y that the mischief done by disease spreading in the community is to be measured 
by the iinmber of deaths which ensue— that is the least part of the result, as in the battle the killed 
■bear but a small i>roportion to the wounded. It is not merely by the crowded )iospitals, the fre- 
quent funerals, the destitution of families, or the increased pressure of the public burthens that 
SX)u may test the sufferings of a nation over which sickness has passed; thereat and lasting injury 
lies in the deterioration of race, in the seeds of di.sease transmitted to future g.-neration.s. in the 
degeneracy and decay which are never detected till the evil is irreparable, and of which, even then 
the cause remains often undiscovered." 



r- 



'MI&^W£Q^. 



TO HIS HONOR. THE MAYOR. 

S A M U E L M c C L E L L A N , Esq., 

AND MEMBERS OF THE FIKST BRANCH OF THE CITY COUNCIL : 

Thos. Sweeney, Andrew Wilson, John McLure, 

A. J.. Pannell. Thos. P. Shallcross, Thos. G. Culbertson, 

John H. Hall, Samuel Harper, A. C. Quarrier, 

Geo. H. Carnahan, David Schambra, W. B. Simpson, 

John Reinhart, Thos. J. Blair. 

AND to the president, 

NATHANIEL WILKINSON, Esq., 

.\NU MEMBEKti OF THE SECOND BRANCH : 



John Baer, 
John Clator, 
W. H. Harrison, 

JAS. R. McCORTNEY, 

Robert Pratt, 
Porter Smith, 
S. Sheppard, 



Joseph Bell, 
W. E. Connelly, 
Simon Keim, 
J AS. Maxwell, 
Jos. Salisbury, 
John G. Smith. 
A. J. Sweeney, 
Bernard Shanley. 



John Boring, 
John Hughes, 
A. J. Long, 
Theobold Mollter, 
Edward Weisgerber, 
Robert Simpson, 
J. T. Updegraff, 



Wheeling, January 11th, 1870. 

Gentlemen : — Tlic following pages are wriiien in the interest of 
.science, truth, virtue, humanity, and an exalted citizenship, which is 
the only measure ot the true wealth of communities ; and they are 
submitted for your patient consideration. 



2 

U in tny topographical survey, I have exposed a few serious sani- 
tary defects and other disadvantages which attach to the cicy---havc 
spoken plainly of certain evil practices which unfortunately form a 
part of the heritage of all cities and large towns, I have also made known 
a greater number of /ru//zs concerning the virtuous practices of the 
people of Wheeling, as well as their general business prosperity and 
happiness. 

Through your liberality I am not only permitted to present these 
facts and truths to the people whom you have so faithfully served, 
but also to hundreds who, perhaps, have never heard of the manu- 
facturing facilities and wealth of Wheeling. 

To what e.xtent 1 have succeeded under the New Ordinance, which 
your wisdom and just appreciation of the demands of an enlighteiied 
humanity caused to be enacted so soon after your election and inaugu- 
ration, in making the Health Office useful as the most economic 
means of preserving public health and contributing to the happiness 
of all classes, yonr Committee on Accounts can answer. How far 
useful also in the discovery and presentation of data for the advance- 
ment of .sanitary knowledge and the general protection of human 
life, others, I doubi not, will hereafter faithfully decide. 
1 am. Sirs, 

Vour ob't Servant, 

James E. Reeves, M. D. 

Webster-.St. , Centre Wheeling. 



nm\[ ill) iiEm Wimni m, 



OK THK 



CITY OF WHEELING. 



INTRODUCTION 



Importance of San it (fry Science* 



Anything which rclales to Wic and the promotion of public heahh, 
is of the dearest interest to the human family, and a community igno- 
rant of jiroperly collutctl ficts concerning its vital history, is, indeed, 
but feel)ly defended against "the pestilence that walkclh in darkness, 
and the destruction that wastcth at noon-day." To such, the whole- 
some lessons of domestic ami civic Hygiene afford no rules and de- 
fences for the pcrsc^n, the; domicile, the municipality and the Stale, 
nor encouragement to its ])hysical. social and j)olilical prosperity ; 
and as a Ci)iise(pient truth, the practical ai)plications of science and 
art. commercial enterprise, manuficlures and popular intelligence 
are at a low standard, while frequently recurring endemic ami epi- 
demic diseases (so-called) and a high death rate, constiiule the most 
{)rominent features of its culpable history. 

From the remotest anlicpiity, prrcciitivc rather than cnratn:,- mediciuf 
has been sought after by the wise of every age anti nation. The an- 
cient Fathers of Medicine were earnest cultivators and teachers of 
Hygiene, and hiring the chosen counsellors of those in authorit}'. they 
were the authors ol the immense sanitary designs, successes and handy- 
works, which made Rome the mistress of the world and the Gesars 
her popular guardians. To this day ma\' be : ecu in the region round 



6 

about the Eternal Cit\' the mouldering remnants ofthe vast subterranean 
galleries, aciueducts and sewers wliich, while they perpetuate the wis- 
dom and grandeur ofthe age in >vhich they were constructed, tell the 
downfliU of a mighty empire. Cenuiries ago, the country surround- 
ing Rome could boast of its hundred flourishing cities, but now ii is 
a sickly waste, inhabited by a scattcretl peasantry whose degeneracy, 
physical, mental and moral, is plainly registered upon their counte- 
nances and marks the pressure of public suffering consequent upon 
their lapse to superstition and slavery. Greece, with the loss of her 
liberty and the ruin of her cities, has an altered climate, dating back 
perhaps from the days ofthe Peloponesian war — more than 400 years 
before the Christian era— when polished and populous Athens was 
devastated by fire and sword, and pLigue followed in the train to com- 
plete the horrors of her lamentable desolation. 

Hygiene ever goes hand in hand with true liberty, and is the com- 
panion of orderly habits and pure morals. During the fourleenlli 
century, when vice and misrule in Europe had their greatest sway, and 
the beautiful fruits of civilization were trampled under fool, by bar- 
barian warriors — when acquisitions that bad cost mankind ages of toil 
and labor, were lo&t in the general wreck — wlien the night of igno- 
rance was darkest, and human degradation driven to its lowest depths 
— then, hygiene was neglected and phigues numerous and almost 
universal rested upon the people. Hence, it has been truly said that 
general health is inconsistent with national servitude. 

In Mythological history Health was jKMsonified by the goddess 
Hygeia, whose flivorite poetic places of abode were remarkable for 
their .sylvan beauty. Temples were erected to her in the cities ; but 
she received no sacrifices of blood or oriental perfume. Her altar 
was strewed with flowers, and her i)resence was most appropriately in- 
voked on the mountain side, or in the shady dell of the wild wood, 
along the banKs of the limpid rimpling stream, whose music, accom- 
panied with the notes of the Shei)herd's pipe and borne upon the 
balmy breezes of her fairy realm, made merry the festive dance of her 
rustic maidens. It was supposed that she presided over and took 
especial pleasure in the feats and sports of the gymnasium — wrestling, 
boxing, racing, foot-ball, pitching the quoit, throwing the javelin, and 
every other manly exercise, by which the (ireek and Roman youth 
were trained to the endurance of fatigue and acquired that strength of 
body and contempt of danger that made them the terror of their 
enemies. 



Connected with the [hilcslrce. or those i)lacc.s where they exercised 
themselves in gymnastics, as well as in philosophical disputations and 
discussions on various literary subjects, were the public baths, distinct 
for both sexes, in adorning which incrustations, metals and marble 
were all employed, and painting and sculpture exhausted their refine- 
ment'^. To these magnificent apartments all classes of people were 
attractctl, both for pur])oses of health and to prepare the body for 
the exercise of the public games. In a word: great cleanliness of 
person was enjoined in all the systems of ancient training for health 
and vigorous develo])ment of the body, not less than a proper supply 
of nutritious food, and regular exercise. 

Health cannot be estimated too highly. Intleed it is so necessary 
to all the duties, as well as pleasures of life that "the crime of 
squandering it is equal to the folly;" and in a country like ours, where 
legislation fluctuates with the wants and wishes of the people, it is 
very evident that a knowledge of rational precepts — the laws of 
Hygiene' — for the preservation of health and prevention of disease 
must be indispensable guides to the enactment of good laws, whether 
as relating to individual welfare, or the flourishing condition of the 
body politic. To the honor of our adorable profession be it said — 
every discovery that has been made concerning life, and of protecting 
communities or individuals from prevailing diseases, is to be accred- 
ited to medical science and medical heroism, whose levies of precious 
knowledge, gathered from earth, sea and sky, have blest mankind in 
every age of the world. 

From the date of the earliest Egyptian records, when priests-— who 
were the depositaries of all knowledge— em])loyed magical incanta- 
tions for the cure of the sick, to the present when no calling repre- 
sents more fully or honorably than the science of medicine the intel- 
lectual tendency of the times and a fairer average measure of the ad- 
vancement which is occurring all round us, the prevention of disease 
and the amelioration of human suffering has been the highest mission 
of medical knowledge. 

Among the injunctions which have descended to us along the line 
of many centuries, and not less important to-day than when they were 
first uttered by Hippocrates, who lived 460 H. C. , are the following : 
*' Observe the difference of airs, and of waters which are drank. The 
eatables which are the principal food of the inhabitants, and in one 
word, all the causes wfiich may occasion disorders in the animal 
economy. ' Again — "It is the business of the jihysician to know, in 



8 

the first place, things similar and things dissimilar; which are to be 
perceived by the sight, and the touch, and the hearing, and the nose, 
and the tongue, and the understanding;" and again — "It is not in 
the dust of the schools, nor the works of the philosopher, that we can 
learn the art of interrogating '^■AinxQ."- -jyans./ro/n Ilippocraits . 

Celsus, the Roman Hippocrates, inculcated the same important 
precepts, and thus echoed the great master, (ialen was not less com- 
prehensive ami perspicuous in his instructions for preserving health : 
and from his ■A'j:,c down to the times of our own Rush, Cartwright. 
Drake and Fciiui'r— the pioneer Medical Topographers in the New 
World — all the recognized lights in the history of the Healing Art, 
have lauglit hojc and iv/iv die phyNician should fust study Nature'.^ 
processes and indications in health and disease. As Sydenham. 
Fhuve\', Roerhaase, Il.dler. I'ringle, Huxham, Tilane. )enner, I.ien- 
nec and ih'jir companion worslii])peis and minislers in the "true 
cluircli in medii-ine, " buili uj)on the foundilions their j)redecessors 
had laid, so — in the third quarter of the nineteenth century — are the 
iaiihrul sludtnts and in;er|)relers of Nature in .America, armeil widi 
die priceless impVaneiVs of dieir toils, industrionslv prosecuting tlu- 
woik commiltetl lo dieir hearts and hands. 

In (jreat Rritam, iMancx', (jermanv. .\ustria antl Prussia, sanitary 
knowledge and sanitarv improvements have markmll)' increased the 
average dur.nion ol' hnman life. notwitli>taiiiling die man\ unfavor- 
able h\gienic conditions .iiid intluemi' thai result from a dense and 
coustantb' incrt'asing jiojjulalirni. !u Rondon especia.llv has the in- 
crease of probabiliiv of lile l)een plainl_\- seen. .Alxml the middle ol 
the si.x'eenih n.ntur\- the j>o[)ulation was estimated at a half million : 
and the aver.ige duration of lile was only twenty live years — litl\- d\ing 
annuallv out of cverv onj-iliousaiid of the iiihai)itant:;. I'he >'reets 
were n.irrow. ill-paved, and equalled the inii>erfectl\- ctmstrucled sewei>' 
as rcceptaciis of all maiiiu r of ahomin-iblc' filth: the dwellings, jirin- 
cipally of w(;(nl, wcae over crowded and no attention whatever paid to 
d.ieir ventilatiou: water wa> scantiK' snj)j)lied; personal antl domiciliary 
lieanliness neither incouraged norenforceil ; and the cit\' was given 
up lo licentiousiv ss. Tluai in !()<>.'> London was visited l)v plague: 
cA\A it h.is beiai estimated that in oiu; night ;{()()() persons |)erished 
f.oin tlie ravages of the teiii!>Ie dcvastalor, and thai up to KiT'-t, from 
•rhat j-iaitce a'one llu' morialitv amounted lo lOO.iOo! Rut now, 
vi.li i'.s population increas.d to millions, how tJiHereni die ivsull '. 
ius'.iL.d o' l"a\)i!y \(ars, the a\eiage duration uf hie is /////Vi-.»vrY;/}ears ; 



9 

atni the rale of monality, instead o{ ji/'/v, is Iwcnly-fiTt in one ihou- 
sancl ofilie population. 

In Holland, dreary swamps have been converted into tureen and 
fertile fields, and numerous flourishing cities built upon spots wliere 
the foot of man could not once have trodden with safetv. Calcutta, 
built on a swamp, on the east side of the Hoogly, ami, at a few miles 
distance, surrounded l)y lakes, which are supplied from overflows of 
the river, by a j^rctper s\'stem of draining of that ])art of the citv in- 
habited by luiropeans, has become as health}' as any country of the 
same latitude on earth ; while, on the contrary, Stockholm, Ituilt on 
small islands at the entrance of Lake Malar, with a mean annual tem- 
perature of 40 cleg., and possessing the recpiisite natural advantages, 
if properly improved, to make it the healthiest city in Kuro|)e, is, be- 
cause of gross sanitary defects — imperfect drainage, and a bad supply 
of water to houses — the iinhealthiest in that quarter of the globe, as 
shown by its death rate. 

Urged by the progressive minds of the medical profession in most 
of the American cities and larger towns, the municipal representatives 
of the people are beginning to learn something respecting the econ- 
omic antl political importance of public health and salubrity ; and it 
is sincerely to be hoped that the day is not fir distant when the march 
of sanitary improvement, or the stutly o{ prevcnlhk: mcdirinc, shall have 
commenced in earnest all over the land. Then, when sanitary science 
is uniformly cultivated by physicians ; is taught in common schools 
as well as in academies and higher seminaries of learning ; appreci- 
ated by the people as a matter of very great concern to every citizen ; 
antl encouraged and enforced by the municipality and the .State — • 
■sanitary measures may prove omnipotent against e{)idemics, and save 
annually the lives of thousands of laborers and mechanics to whom a 
healthful antl vigorous frame is the greatest wealth. 

There is no class in society to which a knowledge of the laws of 
health is of greater importance than it is to that of th^ working men 
in our manufacturing districts. Every day of sickness, whether pro- 
iluced from any one of the thousand circumstances intimately con- 
nected with their several trades or professions ; insalubrity of the work- 
shop, the city or town, or by accident — is, indeed, so much cash 
capital deducted from the fund ujjon which they and their families 
can alone depend for support ; yet, it is frequently the case, that they 
overlook every principle of hygiene, and therefore regularly pay the 
penalty imposed by the Moloch of preventable tlisease. 



10 

To aitl in the statistical investigations which arc being carried on in 
every part of the country for the purpose of determining with precis- 
ion not only the conij)a!ali\e salubrity of town and cf)untry, hut alsf) 
the different salubrity ol towns compared with each other, and to 
record certain lacts reladng to the health, business, prosperity, habits, 
etc., of our people, I proceed to my self-imposed task — a descri[)tion 
of the Physical and Medical To[)Ogra[)hy. including Vital and other 
Statistics, etc.. of 

The City of Wheelinr/, 

Siiu.ATiox, ETC. — Wlieeling, the temporarv capital of West \'irginia 
and the seat of government of Ohio county, is situatetl in latitude 40 
deg. 7 min. north by longitude 80 deg. I'^i min. west, on the east 
bank of the Ohio river, at an average altitude of (550 feet above the 
level of the sea ami from 40 to 90 feet above low water mark in the 
river, embracing a poj)ulation, including Ritchietown, of 24,000, and 
possessed of taxable properly assessed at |12.491,189, but which sum 
falls considerably short of its true wealth. The environs- — Clinton. 
Fulton and Manchester, adjoining it, and Martinsville, Bridgeport, 
and West Wheeling on the o[)p()site or Ohio side of the river — would 
make about o,000 population, which would give to Wheeling and 
suburbs 27,000 souls : and at a just \aluati()n of real and ])ersonal 
j)r()i)ert\-. an aggregate wealth of not less ilian $1;"). ")00,000. or a dis- 
tributive wealth of $574 to every man, woman, and child in tlu; com- 
inunitv. There are four linus of railroad leading to the city. 

In 17(J9 the biolhcrs Col. I'.bcne/er, .Silas and Jonathan Zane. men 
whose hard\- genius and heroic courage t-xactly tilteil them lor thr 
perilous times in which ihc\- li\ed, visited the Ohio forihe i)urpose ol 
selecting ])osiiions lor tlicir future residence, and laitl claim to the 
!)f)itom and table lands now occupied by the city on both .sides ol 
Wheeling reek, ineluding the Ishiiul ; and by these men the origin. d 
town was laid oul in I7S',) it is diNlant from .Sieubenxille 22 miles. 
Parkeisbuig 94 miles, Pittsburgh 91 miles. Columbus 1,')7 miles. 
Cleveland 14S miles, Chicago 4!S0 miles. Baltimore 379 miles, and 
l)ounded on the east by a range of steep hills, having a mean altitude 
of 400 feet aljove the river le\el. containing inexhaustible beds of bitu- 
minous coal, hoin which the inhabitants and numerous manulaclories. 
some of which have //rrsi railroiids leading directly iiom the mines to 
liie furnaces, are sup[)':ed at trilling expense. 



11 

ToPoi'.RAPHY. — Tlie cily is cli\itlc(i into seven waiils, hul its disti'nc- 
live features are better recoii^nized as Nortli Wheelinj^ — corrcspondins^ 
with the limits of the 1st and :2d Wards; East WlieeUng — the greater 
parts of tiie 3d and 4di Wards ; Centre Wheehng — the 5tti and 6 h 
Wards: Zane's Islantl — the 7tli Ward : and, separated from the Gih 
Ward by Caldwell's run and an open common containing 25 or 30 
acres, South Wheeling — embracing the imiependent municipalit\- of 
Rilchietown, with a p(>|)iilaii<)n of i.OOO ; its length along the river, 
between its extreme northern and southern limits, 4 miles, with a 
breaddi of from 2 to 8 squares. 

'i'he first settlement was made in North Wheeling, widiin protection 
Ki'i I'^ort Fincastlc, which in honor of Patrick lienrv was subsequently 
calletl F'ort Henry. This jxirt of die city has the maximum elevation, 
and retains many (»f its original landmarks, with here and there a 
ruinous log house which was constructctl in ilie oiden time, and shel- 
tered brave men who have long since [la.ssed awa\-. 

.\t the extreme northern boundary of the city, niarked by |ona- 
ihan's ravine, Wheeling Hill rises abrujMly, and after closely skirting 
the river the distance of a mile to Jefferson street, bends in an east- 
erly tlirection, and running thence three fourths of a itiile, terminates 
as suddenly as it rises, in the outer l)order of l*"ast Wheeling, S scjuares 
from the (_)hio. Upon the first !)lu(f, at an elevation of about IT*!) feet 
above Main street, and within 300 yartls of the river, in the direction 
of ]\[cLure street, is Mount Wood CaiwUry, wldch. contains Hi acres 
and was set apart 20 years ago. 'I'o this beautiful jtlace the main 
avenue of approach is the National turnpike road, which, diverging 
from Market street at the base of the liill, crosses a few hundred yards 
south of the cemetery grounds at a i)oint made memorable in Indian 
or border warfare, since September, 1777, the place <tf McCoIUhIis 
icap for his life over an almost perpendicular preci])ice of 150 feet 
descent I 

On the side of the hill— 350 \ards south of the lurn])ike crossing 
and 50 or (30 yanis from the summit, at an elevation of 275 feet 
above the bed of the river and but 8 inches abo\c the highest pipes 
(on Quincy street, East Wlieeling) which have been laiii for distrib- 
uting water — is the City Basin or Res<.rvoii\ cut down to (he depth of 
9 feel through a limestone stratum which forms its walls anil also i's 
pavement, having a capacity of 751,320 galluns. and suiij)lied from 
the Ohio river l)y force-pumps. From the Reservoir the \vater is sent 
out along the streets and alleys, at an average depth of 1 feet beneadi 



12 

the surface in iron pipes, which were cast at Wheeling foundries, vary- 
ing' in size from ;] to 20 inches in diameter. 

The woochiian's axe has left i)ut few of tiie forest trees wliich, at a 
comparatively recent period, completely shaded the hill and gave 
beauty to the natural scenery of the locality. Next to Wheeling, it 
presents a barren aspect and entirely uninviting, but on the opjoosite 
side and around and over its crest at the souUiern extremity, flourish- 
ing vineyards, containing from 3 to 40 acres are cultivated, and 
yield a profitable return to the vintagers. 'I'lie varieties most suc- 
cessfully cultivated are the Isal)clla, Concord, Catawba (princij)ally 
cultivated for the manulacture of wine) and Delaware, which, because 
of tlie ])erfection of llieir growth and peculiar richness of flavor, have 
found ready sale in the markets of Baltimore, Philadelphia, New 
York and Boston. Some idea may be had of the extent of the grape 
culture in the vicinity of Wheeling, widiin a radius of live miles, 
when the fact is statetl that of this delicious fruit not less than 31,3-')0 
bushels or 1,500,000 lbs. were vintaged last year; and from equally 
reliable data it has been ascertained that about 90,000 gallons of wine 
w-ere manuflxctured ; and yet this enterprise among the hills of West 
Virginia and Eastern Ohio has but just I)egun. 

At the foot of the hill, a few hundred Vc.rds south of the vineyards, 
between Centre and John streets, and occupying the corner lot formed 
by the junction of John with Fult(m street, is " Kast Wlieeling grave- 
vard, ' containing three-fourths of an acre, which is supported on the 
Fulton street side, above the llempfield railroad track, by a stone wall 
10 feel liigh. This cemetery is already too well iilled, yet permission 
is given for additional interments. The tenement houses in the im- 
mediate vicinity are ])riiicipally occupied by the families of laborers 
and others employed at the extensive Glass Works siluatetl on the 
bank of Wheeling creek within 50 yards of the graveyard. Across 
the creek, in Manchester, at the loot of l\eille\"s hill, and but a few 
yards above the tannery and coal oil refinery, which are situated be- 
tween the bank of the creek and the Peninsula road, is the only 
Catholic Ccmetoy in the vicinity of Wheeling, and contains 4 acres 
within the enclosure. At the lower or road side it has sevcial vatilh, 
which arc built of stone masonry to the depth of 8 or 9 feet, and rest 
on a stratum of sand and gravel. Some of these \aults are in dilaj)- 
idated condition and i)ermit the escape of mephilic odors, which are 
becoming iamiliar in that locality. 

The City Cenielery, comparatively of recent origin, is situated sev- 



13 



eral liundrcd yards lurilicr up tlir creek (Ui the c!e\aiC(l Peninsula 
grounds, and will a.iswer liie (Kmands of die city for die next twenty 
years. 'I'his new suburban cemetery was necessitated by the closing 
of the old city grave-yard, which was situated between Fourth and 
Fifth and Zane and John streets — a tlistrict now in the verv lieart of 
the cil}' and mainly owned by the llempfield Railroad C'ompanv. 
'J'he remains of the dead buried in tlie old were removed to the new- 
grounds 20 wars ago. Here the Pr(jlestant ])oorare furnished a beau- 
tiful burning place, and, side In' side with the rich, (iml rest from their 
labor. 

In the .'■ame neighborhood, across the Peninsula on the line of the 
Xalional turnpike road, the \illages of Leatherwo(jd and Fulton are 
located — the lornu'i' two iniics distant liom Wheeling, and reputul.ile 
not less for its salubrit\- than lor the elegance of its villas, which ])cep 
through o\erlapping arboiA ita's, and are suirounded b\- beautiful gar- 
dens and thril!}- orcliaids bearing the choicest fruits ; the latter one and 
one hall' miles distant, and remarkable for its slaughler-lunises, tanne- 
ries, etc. Iwom this \illage of concentrated odors Wheeling creek ])e- 
comes at once t-ontaminaled : and by the time it rounds the wide bor- 
der ol Fast ^\"heeling — recei\ing into its current the foul drainings from 
Manchester and the ("reek Iron Mills on one side, and on the other, 
from the slaughter-houses, soaj) and tallow chancMer estabhMiments, 
the gas works, oil refineries, |)ri\ale and ]nil)lic sewers leatling from 
the ?)A and -Idi W'arils- -it bec(^mes surthargt;d with horrible matti'is 
in solution long before it empties its burden into the Ohio, loO \ards 
l)e'ow the' .Stone bridge. This structure, supported l>\- three arches, is 
ISO feet in length, on the line of Main strecl, widi ver}- narrow sitle- 
walks, and lorms the on'}' crossing for the thousands who pass and 
repass dail_\- from one side of the cit^' to the other. To accommodate 
a very great public (kmand. another !)ridgc, made of iron, is now in 
prf)cess of erection, with ample zvt{vs for all jjurposes, and will span 
the creek at Market street — next abo\e Main — during the coming 
year. Owing to its great length. Wheeling creek is subject to sudden 
and very great rises, and then a rapid current. By this means tlie 
offensive matters flowing into it in its passage through the citv arc now 
and then eom[)Ietely gotten riii of and all accumulations of filth swept 
from its banks and eddies. 'I'lie ice market is supplied from dams two 
and three miles above its mouth, at which points the stream is free from 
putrilagc, etc. 

This stream forms the northern boundary of Centre Wheel inir, and 



14 

separates the 4th from llic 5th Ward. There were but few buildings 
of any kind soutli of tlie creek or in Centre Wheehng 35 years ago ; 
and the large district of fertile bottom and table lands which were then 
cultivated in meadows and cornfields, as well as the swamp grounds 
thrown out as loriiiiions even at a much later date, are now occupied 
by hundreds of fme dwellings, several costl)' church cditices, many 
large manufacturing establishments and scores of smaller work-shops ; 
and broad antl busy streets present all the xi<^ns of the ease and hurry 
of a i)o{)uIous and prosperous community, with constantly increasing 
business wealth. In a word, one half of Wheeling, is now, "over the 
creek. " 

The highest point in the hill range Eicing Centre Wheeling on the 
east is Chapline's hill, which has an elevation of abou"- 550 feet above 
the bed of the creek. This hill, rising from the Peninsula i)romon- 
lory, with its base forming the sleep southern bank of the creek as it 
sweeps round East Wheeling to the west as lar as Chai)line street, then 
bending suddenly, runs parallel with the Ohio, at the tlis'ance of from 
4 to 10 scjuares therefrom, to Caldwell's run, in which locality it loses 
its iilentitv among the spurs that give rise to the next highest jioint in 
the chain — Frazer's hill, which tlanks South Wheeling its entire 
length. 

The acclivitv IVoni the river bank or Iwllvm, upon which more than 
one half of the city is built to the level of the streets having the great- 
est elevation, varies from 40 to GO feet. North of tlic creek, as a rule, 
it is greater than in Centre Wheeling : and greater in Centre tlian in 
S(HUh Wheeling. Besitles, the general surface is higher by at least 25 
feet in North than in Centre Wheeling ; and from I to 3 feet higher 
in Centre than in South Wheeling. There remains, however, l)Ut 
little of the surface in either ward that has not been entirely altered by 
the march of improvement- -the cutting down of high banks and fill- 
ing up (if ravines, the comersiou of low marshv and malarial districts 
into dry and \aluable building lots, the accommodation of easy and 
regular grades in the streets and allevs, and as far as p(^ssible to secure 
needful drainage ; but notwithstanding the best directed efforts to over- 
come or correct natural irregularities and disadvantages, the level of 
Main street, its greater length in Centre Wheeling, and also a jxtrt of 
Market street in the 6th Ward, is lower by several i)iches than the im- 
mediate bank of the ri\er. In this respect. South Wheeling — a con- 
siderable part of whicii originallv was f)ut little better than a ([uagmirc 
— is ])nrticularly unfortunate, lor besides suffering from the same difli- 



15 

cullies experienced in Centre Wheelini::: concerning? draina^qc, it is 
more exposeti to disastrous overllows during unusual flood tides in 
the Ohio. 'I'liese, however, do not occur oftener than once in an 
orilinarv lifetime, and hence are not much feared. Owing to the im- 
jicrviousness of the clay substratum, nimy of the unimproved lots, 
during rainy seasons, are covered with water, and some of them have 
been converted into permanent ponds by the trampling of stock and 
the stripping of clay for the manulacture of brick, which is an im- 
portant item of busines.s. 

This i>art of the city is not supplied with water from the Basin, and 
the inhabitants are therefore com{)elled to rely u{)on s|)rings, and hard 
wa/cr wells from 40 to 50 feet in depth — 1st, through 3 feet rich allu- 
vium , 2d, from 3 t(» 6 feet brick clay ; 3d, 10 feet loam ; 4lh, 35 feet 
gravel ; 5:h, 3 feet (piick.sand to river bed boulders ; and walled in 
with brick and furnished with variously fashioned pumps and buckets. 
Neither is it supplied with gas ; and this can scarcely be considered a 
less disadvantage than the manner of obtaining water. These disad- 
vantages, however, will soon be remedied ; then South Wheeling will 
present an inviting field for the erection of additional manufacturing 
establishments, and a new business life and rapid increase of poi)ula- 
tion will mark its progress.* 

Across the main channel in the Ohio, opposite the most densely 
])opulated and business pari of the city, is Zane's Island, or the 7th 
Ward, which is a little over a mile in length, with an area of 400 
acres, and connected with the main land on the Wheeling side by a 
strong double track and safely anchored wire suspension bridge, hav- 
ing a length of 1,010 feet ; and on the Bridgeport sido by a pier tim- 
ber bridge 640 feet in length. The river in general is clear and rapid 
and of unequal depth on account of the geological .structure of its 
bed, which al many points becomes very manifest in dry seasons. The 
same disadvantages — low ground and defective drainage, hard wafer 
wells and coal oil lamps — which embarrass a residence in South Wheel- 
ing apply with equal force to the Island ; and but for these objections 
it would be at all seasons of the year the most desirable part of Wheel- 
ing to live in, as it is certainly the most beautiful in spring time and 
summer, because of its vineyards, orchards, gardens, Fair Oround.s,| 



* A conniiittce. recently .ippiiinted b.v the Oommon Oouncil of South Whnfliiifx, is itlnady ni-i;!)- 
tiatiiif.'. with ii fair piiispcil of success, for the construction of Water Wiirlis, liy wliiili Ohio 
river water, iilteri'd Ihrout-'li its natiiral bed of sand and gravel, can bo almii.iiit ly supplied lo 
that part of the city, 'riie erection of gas works is only a question of a little time, which will 
nwike known its demand, and the xiijijili/ will as surely follow. 

+ A proposition is before theJOity (louncil for the purchase of the Fair Grounds, embrucint; 40 
acres, and their conversiiin into a public park. 



16 

beautiful lawns, neat white cntta^^es liedo:e(l in wiili everi^rccns, and 
more imposin,:^ mansions whose ma^^nificent surroun liuLi^s indicate 
greater weallli and retirement. 

To i)lacc this ward on a level of advantai^^cs with (Vher parts of the 
city proper, ai)plication has already been made to the C'i!\' Council 
for an extension of the Water Works to ihe Island : and when this 
improvement and also the manufacture of gas shall have l)ecn accom- 
plished, then — regardless of low grounds and the dangers of occa- 
sional floods and overflows, the Island will be the most attractive part 
of Wheeling. 

Notwithstanding its present disadvantages, it has increased in po])u- 
lalion from SOO to 1,400 within the last five \-ears, and the next Ave 
yeais, no doubt, will -how even greater i)rosperii\'. It i.s crossed by 
the National turnpike road and ("ili/ens" railway the latter having 
been in fJjxM-alion onl\- two }-ears, and to its man_\- conveui'-nccs may 
jus!l\- be attributed the late unusual impnncment which has been 
going on in that Iocalit\-, as well as along the lim^ of the road gener- 
ally. It is sincerel)- to be rt^gre'iteil, however, that the chari'M" grant- 
ing the right of \va\' did not s'ipulate the use ol" fl.il r.uls in the 
streets, as was wiseh- prcna'ded for in the gran' of the Sus;i:ns'on 
Bridge Company to cross tlieir track. At several jjoints the Iii'^li Inrs- 
which unforiunatelv ai'e in use. offer serious oI)structinn to wagons of 
burden and other wheeled carriages, which are compelled to occupv 
the same route. 

Taking th(_^ most elevated siandpoini on the Island, ti)e \icw in 
either direetion in spring time and summer is wortin' of die artist's 
skill, .'^(n.-teliing far away to the north and the south is the broad ami 
beaulifid Ohio ; on tin' west are gentiv sloping hills, varied with forest 
trees, orchards, vim/yards, farm-houses, grain-lields. lawns and mea- 
dows rich with verdure, and at their base along the bank of the river 
ihrixiiiu: \illages : on the e.isl is \\'lieeling. with all the show of a 
rlourishing cit\', whost; ( (unmerie ma\' be partialb' measui-ed b\- the 
number of paku c steamers aiul vessels of iiurlhen that piv the wharf; 
and on the street aiiove, bv the long lines of railwav cars that com])etc 
tor the liusiness of the jioit, anil bring the m.irkets of dis'ant cities to 
Vv heeling doors. 

.^1 KKKis .\Nn .\t,i I vs. KTC. — There are in Wheeling .".Aj miles of 
streets and about the same distance of allc\s. With a few trifling ex- 
ceptions the s'reets intersei-t each other al right a\vgles and have a 



17 

wiillli of from GO lo 6G fet't, with 11 icct sidewalks, pavetl with hiick 
ami llagstones ; ihc alleys are IG feel wide, anil almost entirely unim- 
proxetl. or the streets, about ,'>^ miles are paveil with river Ijoiilelcrs, 
and I'rom 2\ lo :> miles macadamised with limestone from adjacent 
quarries. The whole distance of paved alleys does not exceed 2 
miles. The gutters, however, are generally well paved and curljed ; 
and lliesc, exceptini,^ 4^ miles of street railway, together with good 
and sufficient crossings, and gas lights on the most imjiortant streets, 
constitute the sum total of the street improvements in Wheeling. 

'I'he drainage from the hiilsitle is very rapitl, and on the occurrence 
of heavy rains the accumulation of water at certain points of intersec- 
tion is sometimes so great as lo completely deluge the streets below, 
causing serious damage to the sewers antl cellars, besides washing 
down immense piles of surface ddiris which obstruct and make lilthy 
the streets and pavements. On the lower and more level gratles, fol- 
lowing the course of th.e most imj^ortant streets — south and west — - 
sewers are provided which empty their foul contents into Wheeling 
creek antl the Ohio. These are unlrappcd. and the gases — mainly 
suli:)hurelted hydrogen, sulphide of ammonium, carbonic acid and 
nitrogen — which they emit into the atmosj)here render several impor- 
tant loca'ities exceedingly ol'fensive at certain seasons, and especially 
at night. The greater parts of East, Centre and South Wheeling are 
not yet completely sewered, and the grounds being low and Hat, sur- 
face or gutter drainage is defective. The Island has been almost en- 
tirely neglected in respect of sewerage outlets. In addition to these 
troubles, underl\ing the surface is a substratum of tough yellow clay, 
whii h prevents inhltraticjn, and in wet seasons, secures an abundant 
supply of mud in the s'.reets and alleys through which —under the 
excuse that they are "good scavengers'" — the hogs roam without re- 
straint. In summer time or in dry weather, owing to the unpaved 
condition of so many of the streets, clouds of dust sweep in all direc- 
tions with every wind that blows, which is even more disagreeable 
than the mud in wet or winter weather. 

On many of the streets the sidewalks are shaded by the Lombardy 
poplar, ailanthus, linden, catal[)a, maple, locust, with here and 
there a magnolia; these not only give beauty to the streets and add 
greatly to the comfort of the ])eople, but chemistry has demonstrated 
the usefulness of trees and other i)lants in a city in removing carbonic 
acid and restoring oxygen to the air for which they are the only agents 
in nature. 



18 

Grass grows with difiiculty in Wheeling, and many of the green 
yards in front of the houses are the result of much care. Neither do 
tender plants live in summer without constant washing ; the leaves 
become coated with soot, the stomai.a choked, and respiration ceases. 
Indeed, Wheeling has acquired almost as much fame for its coal 
smoke and soot as for its mud, fogs and manufactures. With every 
breath, the sooty particles enter the lungs and discolor the bronchial 
secretions ; and housekeepers in the vicinity of foundries, mills and 
similar establishments are compelled to keep their windows continu- 
ally closed to keep out the soot. Some of the furnaces are positive 
nuisances from the quantity of unburnt carbon they emit in smoke. 
Ladies in making their social calls usually carry a handkerchief for 
the express purpose of preventing their gloves from becoming soiled in 
opening gates and pulling at the door-bells. But, notwithstanding 
the obstruction of light caused by the smoky, sulphurous atmos[)here 
in which the city is almost constantly enveloped, and the clouds of 
sooty particles from hundreds of furnace stacks, there does not, as in 
England, Ireland and Scotland, seem to be any unusual tendency to 
pulmonary phthisis or other respiratory trouble among the masses— 
not so great, even, as in the rural districts. 

Private Dwellings, etc. — At least three-fourths of the houses arc 
built of brick. The frame or plank houses are mostly found on the 
Island and in the extreme northern and southern portions of the city. 
The houses generally arc well built, properly ventilated and 1,100 
of them supplied with gas* and with water in-doors ; the remainder 
from convenient out-door hydrants, or from wells ; and lighted by 
coal oil lamps. All told, there are 235 private bath-liibs, on which 
is levied a special tax. But if there are many magnificent private 
mansions in Wheeling, and thousands of less elegant homes— 
whose occupants are as respectable as those of the former — there arc 
also many mi.serable abodes along the alleys and on the outskirts of 
the city : places totally unfit for human habitation, w'hich arc tenanted 
by the few very poor — negroes and whites, men, women and chiUlren — - 
cows, dogs, pigs and poultry. There are several localities which are 
principally occupied by these wretched hovels — in "constructional 



•Wheeling gas is p"r;/i«<— if such a torm can be used in this connection— by the <1ry limr pro- 
cess, and thcri-fori! abominably offensive. It Is to i>revent the evolution of .sulphuretted hydroKi-n 
gas that the oxide of iron is now, elsewliere. s,. i,'fncr;illv used : and it is sincerely to bo hoped that 
the tune is not Inrdistiint when this b.^i t, r pro, r^s (jf imnlieation will be employed m W heel- 
ing. .t:t,r>(lpei-tlioiisiuid feet, ouKht to srciir.' /.". < lijis-.^spi'cially when eoal is so cheap. As at 
pres('nt inaniifai-turi'd, it does not probably exi a 12' , eandh' power. In many of the houses, how- 
over, the old pipes are small, and the burners, if not worn out. defective; from this cause poor 
lisht, in many instances ia, no doubt, jiroduced. 



19 

partnership ' with privies, pig sties or other depositories of filth — 
whose happy families are equal to so many metiageries. There 
several localities which have become well-known on account of the 
regularity of the exhibitions of their occupants. In some of these 
places the buildings are partly underground, have no drainage, and 
in wet weather soaked into by surface water or sewerage. From such 
huts or habitations come regularly the largest returns of infant mor- 
tality, usually ascribed to coNVULSiONs^the result of reflex disease 
excited by bad air and improper food ; which proves tha*; there is no 
greater mistake among the common herd, that " exposure and filth 
make children hardy." Here, also, every importation of small-pox 
finds its first lodgment ; and from these prolific centres of infamy and 
disease, the peace and health of the city is constantly endangered. 
Yet, the.se wretched hovels actually bring a higher rate of rent than 
good rooms in respectable houses command ; and many of their 
owners have acquired ease and comforts from the enormous profits 
thus obtaineil from the earnings of their disreputable tenants. Every 
one of these places — for they are not fit to live in — should be declared 
a nuisance and occupancy prohibited Then would the several 
neighl)orhoods take on the spirit of improvement ; good houses would 
take the places now occupicil by miserable dens, and virtuous behav- 
ior woul'.i be secured. 

In certain tlislric'.s near the hill, antl in f)arts of Kast Wheeling, as 
well as in pans of the 5-h and (jth wards, there art- m^ny damp cellars 
because of the Knighness and unusual depth of the clay substratum ; 
and far worse diOiculiy is experienced from this cause with many of 
the privies, which are after the old style, and in wet seasons full of 
water and constantly ofiensive. Where the gravel bed is reached by 
the privy vault or well, no such trouble occurs — the accumulation of 
water — -and by a little attention, with the use of copperas or other dis- 
infectant and deodorant, all offensive exhalations can be prevented. 

Ci.iM.vTOLOGv. — According to meteorological tables, covering a pe- 
riod of twenty years, recently publishetl by a resident physician of the 
city— Dr. K .\. Hildreth* — the annual mean temperature of W^heel- 
ing is 51° (JJ, l'"ah. ; or a month 1\- mean fluctuation running the same 
number of years, thus : January. 28^97; February, 2i^ 05; March, 
38° 43: April, 49^ 75; May, (50^ OG: June, 69^ 77: July, 73° 91; 
August, 73° 43: September, 65^56; October, 50° 95; November,. 
41° 96; December, 34° 01, Fah. There is a marked difl'erence when' 



» Spp Transact ion.s Amorican Medioftl Association, 1868. 

3 



20 

the temperature of Wheeling: is compared with that of Cameron, a point 
iJ8 miles south on the line of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, depend- 
ing partly on difference in altitude. Peach trees bloom and vegeta- 
tion puts forth much. earlier here than there : and while our changes 
of temperature are more sudden and marked, and violent storms 
more frequent, upon the ivhole, we have more fair ilays, no doubt, 
than would be found south of us 2h or 30 mile.s. Dr. Hildreth has 
shown the annual average number of rainy and snowy days, in twenty 
years, to h: 11 7. 77, -of average cloudv da\s for the same period, 
77.15 ; of clear davs 17:2 :3: and average perpendicular depth of rain 
and melted snow, 31.17 inches Frosts do not occur usually 
later than in .May, nor earlier than the middle or last of 8 ;p:ember : 
but in many parts of the Siate they come every mondi in the year. 

The direction of the winds is almost constantly from ihe .S W. 
and N. W'. , which has l>een reasona])ly accounteti for by the compar- 
atively open country on the west ;ind north ; and the marked infre- 
(piency of easterly winds, because of the Alleghany lange of moun- 
tains on the east. Hence the soap and tallow chandler establish- 
ments,* gas works and other odoriferous factories, which are situated 
in East Wheeling, along the bank of the creek, are less offensive 
than if thev were in the west, when their sickening vapors would b' 
l)lown all «)ver the city. 

G eoloij lea I Htm f ifi cation. 

There is noihing very singular in the geological formation of the re- 
gion round about Wheeling. The tlip of all the strata is 12.07 feet per 
mile ; and takiivg the highest point of the hill range— Cha[)line's Hill 
— the stratification, ascending from the bed of Wheeling creek, is 
.iccording to the followintr order : 

1. J3ed of creek: limestone, said to contain fossils. fiMTugincuis 
clay, blue cla\-; depth of strata not positively ascertained. 

:i. .'^and.stone, containing pyrites, extensively cjuarried for building 
purposes, 'llie Custom House ami Postollice, and several of the 
largest and most costly church edifices are built of it : 25 feet working 

* Tlip inaiii Hiii)ply of the so;i)uiii(i tallow ch.imiliT fiictories i.^i bii toiler^' fnt, which when (ii'liv - 
itr.'il lit till' iH'iitr.il ortici;s. is ii'^iially in piitricl i-oiulitioii and in warm wcalliiT, honihly otTon-^ivo. 
Iroin Ihi- fact (hat inn liat.-ly aft.-r biMiit; strippi-ii troin the animal, it i.s thrown into t i>;ht bar- 
rels or botes anil there sntTc-red to remain until it is convenient to semi if away to the factory: anil 
by tbctiine it reaches the steam-tanks— wbieli are but little better (hail I be old-fasliioneil o;v(( 
/,'.(^''.v -pel bails in c,omiiaii\ with the stiiikiii'; care isses of (wo or three ho«s. with h,,„'l- and lni\llr.-, 
dra^iKeil thither f.)r sjile by some bnkless bill still etiterprisiiiK owner or owners— the stench of tht' 
iieiubborhood from I he exhalal ion of siilpbiir'tleil and pbosjihorafed hydronen with anunoniaoal 
l{ases. is beyond ( Iih endurance of those un.iccustoined to the locality: yet the persons who habitu- 
ally man linilate these masses of corruption and concentrated stinks— whose own bodiiis are e pial 
I ■! so many .-i.;).*/.. in smell, areamonjr the liealtbiost of the laboring population. 



21 

stone ; llic remainder loose and of no practical value, — entire depth 
100 feel. 

3. Limestone l)Oulders, blue clay, yellow clay, nodular sandstone ; 
inclusive 25 feel. 

4. Coal measure, rich in bitumen, with strata of basic, central, and 
roofing slates composed of sulphuret of iron ; 5 feet. 

5. Compact yellowish or reddish steatite or soapstone, blue clay, 
various qualities of limestone, from which the lime market of the city 
is supplied- -some of it semi-hydraulic ; depth inclusive. 25 feet. 

6. Bituminous shale, disposed in thin layers ; sandstone, with de- 
posits of oxide of iron ; soft limestone, tire clay; inclusive, 10 feet. 

7. Bluish or mottled clay slate, soft and without imbedded min- 
erals ; sand or tlagging stone, with deposit of oxide of iron ; inclusive, 
28 feet. 

S. Limestone, very dilTerent in color and (]uality ; \ellow tlay, 
yellow steatite, fire clay; inclusive, 70 feet. 

0. Sandstone of dilierent qualities, some of it very iiard and lino 
grained ; limestone, equally dift'erent as to quality and color ; yellow 
clay, bituminous shale ; inclusive. 48 feet. 

10. Brown limestone and gray sandstone, stratified ; 35 feet. 

11. Cannel coal ; 18 inches.* 

12. Sandstone, different varieties, stratified ; limestone, hydraulic ; 
sandstone, micaceous with carbonate of iron, inclusive, 55 feet. 

13. The remainder to subsoil, irregular and non-formative su[>er 
strata ; 180 feet. 

14. Subsoil, tough yellow clay, 14 feet, and which formerly gave 
root to several varieties of the oak, the birch, iiickory, poplar, dog- 
wood, locust, walnut, etc. 

Eth n Off ruph y . 

The divisif)ns are English, C>erman, Irish, Scotcli, Welch and 
French, and the mixed bloods si)ringing from the union of these with 
the Ethiopian race — Mulattoes. IncHviduals belonging to the first 
class, English — the descendants of early settlers and emigrants mostly 
from Pennsylvania, ALii viand and Virginia — constitute at least y/w- 
ei^hihs of the po[)ulalion ; those bc'longing to the second class, (icr- 
mans, about uiiC'/'mirth ; and iirxt in importance in point of nund)ers, 
the Irish, who, cxccj)ting small numbers belonging to each of the 
classes last menlif)nctl, constitute the remainder of the popid.ition. 
There are probably fewer negroes in Wheeling than in any other city 
of the same size in the United States. These persons have 
not multiplied since the\- obtained their iVecdom ; if any diller- 



• Several years .since, before the diseovery of potroleuin. Dr. K. W. Ilazlett. of South Wheelinn, 
made a distillation of this coal, which yielded 20 per cent, bitumon and 80 percent, arpillaeeous 
schist. To this Keritlenian lam mm-li ind liled for valiiablo a»isixtance in making the section (jf 
strata hi>n!with recorded, which in the main corre-jpondswith observations reeetitly ma<le by I)r 
Hildrelh. 



22 

ence, indeed, their number is now smaller than before the war ; and 
in their habits and mode of life they have in no wise improved upon 
iheir former history. Not less than four-fifths of this {)opulalion have 
traces of Caucasian blood, and their diseases are characteristic of the 
genealogical cross predominating. Fhere are no very aged mulattoes 
to be seen ; on the contrary there may be found several negroes who 
are far advanced in years— in other words, very old black people. And 
another fact which is not less worthy of remark — this : of the mulatto 
children born, very few comparatively, reach the age of 6 years ; and 
those who escape death in infancy and childhood and reach mature 
age, as a rule, are the walking monuments of the scrofulous diathesis 
and the consequent sufferers of many ills which attach as the penalty 
.of a violated law of nature in their birth. The large majority of these 
people — negroes and mulattoes- -of both sexes, continue to be the 
servants of the whites, and earn their humble living with commenda- 
ble industry. They are generally temperate — -I mean not given to 
the habit of drunkenness. The white population is generally active 
and industrious ; principally engageil in trades and manufactures, for 
which the city has become reputable. There are comparatively but 
few idlers belonging to either class, and hence the general prosperity 
which is well shown by the large number of real estate owners among 
mechanics and laboring men. 

Manufact ares. 

The establishments which give em[)loyment to the largest number 
of laboring men and those skilled in mechanics, are the iron and nail 
mills, glass works, foundries and machine shops. 

Iron and N.vils. — In the manufacture of iron and nails, within the 
limits of the city, 2,295 persons are employed ; of these the principal 
operatives are boilers and their helpers, 620 ; blacksmiths, 80 ; 
nailers, 127 ; nail-feeders, 385. Boilers work at the furnaces by 
turns often hours, both day and night, and prepare the metal for the 
rolls, where it is made into bars and nail sheeting. This class of 
laborers is generally com[)Osed of Germans and Irish — the most of 
them foreign born, and. as a rule, are a hardy set of men. On ac- 
count of the intense heat to which they are exposed when at work — • 
notwithstanding many of them go naked to the waist, in warm 
weather, their bodies are bathetl with perspiration ; and thus from the 
very nature of their calling, they are trained to the endurance of 
fatigue and acquire great strength of muscle. They eat and drink 



23 

largely ; the latter of ale, beer and whiskey, sometimes to excess, a' 
habit which is encouraged by the good wages their difficuU labor 
commands. 

Blacksmiths connected with the mills, and whose labor is nearest 
akin to that of boilers, are iiot less healthy ; yet it is somewhat re- 
markable that so few of either class are to be found who are over 50 
years of age. 

Nailers perform the work of shaping and sharpening the bi/s that cut 
the nails; and the keeping in order of four machines is usually thecare of 
each nailer. These men spend much of their limeat the g-ri'/r/ s/ones, 
which revolve with great speed, and breathe an atmosphere loaded 
with mineral particles. They are generally temperate and healthy, 
and a few of them have grown old in the service of the mills, but the 
large majority of them are young men This majority, however, is 
not produced by the early death of the operatives, but the result of 
the wealth and independence which a few years at the business in- 
sures. Their daily wages are from $7 to $10, and after 10 or 12 
years" engagement at this rate per diem, they either become managers 
or partners, or engage in other business of greater ease. What would 
be the effect produced were they to continue their trade for a longer 
period or make it a life long business is not difficult to foretell. Not- 
withstanding the usual short term of service in the large and well 
ventilated mills, and the seeming good health of this class of opera- 
tives — "■ nailers consumplion" — a form of chronic pneumonia — is of 
sufficient frequency among them to attract attention. In two cases of 
long exposure to the dust of the mills, post mortem examination re- 
vealed carbonaceous lungs. Nail feeders represent all ages between 8 
and ()0 years. There arc many small boys among this class o( work- 
men who, perched upon their stools before the machines, day after 
clay, and week after week, perform regular turns with the men. These' 
little fellows are usually pale-faced and from their bent position of 
body, soon become stoop-shouldered ; and this is the type of their 
stunted growth, if they continue at the business. It is asserted by 
those who are entirely familiar with all branches of the nail nianulac- 
lure, iXx-AS. feeders are the healthiest of all the workmen employed, and 
I believe this opinion of them to represent the truth, though they fre- 
quently suffer from im[)erfect digestion and, after pubert}-, from hem- 
orrhoids, because of their sitting upon hard seats. 

The nail mills of Wheeling — the Riverside Iron Works. Belmont, 
La Belle, and Wheeling Iron and Nail Works, including the two mills 



24 

at Benwootl and Bellaire, which are four miles distant, from Wheeling, 
cut 17,350 kegs of nails per week, or about 902,200 kegs annually 
at an average value of $4,059,900. Besides these, and other rolling 
mills for the manufacture of railroad bar rod, hammer iron, sheet 
iron, bridge iron, bolts, etc., there are two spike mills which turn out 
annually, for railroad and boat building purposes, from 50,000 to 
60,000 kegs. The toughness of Wheeling nails, and therefore their 
superiority to nails made at other mills, is generally conceded. 

The Whitaker Mills, situated on the bank of Wheeling creek, en- 
gage principally in the manufacture of railroad iron, spikes, sheet 
iron, etc., and are capable of rolling and finishing 60 tons of railroad 
bars per day. Fifty miles of the rails of the great Pacific road were 
made at these mills. 

The Norway Manufacturing Company's mills, situated in .South 
Wheeling, are supplied with machinery of the most improved inven- 
tion, and are capable of doing all kinds of wrought iron bridge work. 
A part of the grand railway superstructure soon to span the Missouri 
at St. Charles, near St. Louis, is now going through these mills, 
which not only proves their capacity but as well their competitive 
ability. 

The hinge and lack factories are extensive establisments, ami be- 
cause of the superior manufacture of their stocks, thev are rai)idly 
extending ihcir trade in all directions. 

The fountlries and machine shops give emplovment to 475 persons, 
V^'ho are remarkal)le for their general good health, notwithstanding 
their frecpicnt excesses in eating and drinking. There are eight 
foundries in the city ; D. Lynn t't Co., Jos. Bell & Co., Sweeneys & 
Co., H'. W. Phillips, Culberlson & Fisher, \\\ W. Miller & Co., 
Cecil, Hobbs & Co., and John Hamilton t*c Co. — each having a pat- 
ronage correspoiiding with its working capacity. Three or four of 
these estal)lishmenls are principally engaged in duplicating the pat- 
terns of machinery employed in the dilferent iron and nail mills, and 
Ihey are also as well j)rei)ared to make original patterns and single 
castings of arty shape and lor any ])urpo.se, weighing from one pound 
to fifteen tons. 

Recently a new item of business— the making ol iron fronts of the 
most beautiful and subslantial patterns, for business houses, has been 
embraced by Me;srs. Cecil, Hobbs tt Co., in their line of heavy cast- 
ings ; and because of the new spirit of improvement that now per- 
vades the city, and the very moderate prices at which they arc fur- 
nished, promises to become an iniporlant branch of business. 



Zo 



The stove market is entirely sup{)lied from home founiiries, which 
turn out annually thousamls of different patterns, both for (.coking 
and healing purposes. In this particular line of trade, business is 
constantly on the increase, fpr two reasons, mainly : the truly excel- 
lent patterns made, and the exceedingly low price at which they arc 
sold. Besides, it has been ascertained that Wheeling stoves withstand 
greater and longer heat without burning thin many patterns of East- 
ern and Northern manufacture. 

Tliere are eight machine shops in the city— the Baltimore and 
Ohio, Sweeneyset Co., H. W. Phillips, W, W. Miller c^ Co.. Hobbs, 
Taylor & Co. 's Franklin Works, John Hamilton S: Co., and the 
Hemptield Railroad .Shops. Of these the Baltimore and Ohio are 
the most extensive, and command the labor of from <;0 to 120 men, 
both day and night In each of the other shops, however, equally 
skilled machinists are busil\- employed the year round making sleana 
engines, boilers, shafting, mill work, steamboat irons, etc., etc. In a 
word, anything in the way of Macliinery can be made at the Wheel- 
ing shops as well and at as low price as it can be furnished from ihc 
competing shops of Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. 

The M.\MK.\CTiRE ok Glass. — In this dej)artment there are six e.\'- 
tensive establishments, one of which is said to be the largest of tire 
kind in the United States — Sweene\ , BelUt Co , Central Glass Works, 
Ohio \'alley (}lass Works, Hobbs, Brock unier it Co., George W. 
Robinson's Window (}lass Works, and Crangle it Co., at Bellaire-- 
which emplov 8(30 persons of bo'.h sexes, men and women, l)ovs and 
girls 'Phose who work at the />o/s or furnaces, called dippt'rs, are 
more conslantlv exposed to even greater heat, if possible than iron 
boilers ; besides, the former are within doors and occii])y compara- 
tively closed (juarters, while the latter are positively out of doors or are 
only sheltered over-head. For this reason the workmen in glass are 
more exposed in cold weather to sudden and very great changes of 
temperature as often as they go in and out of doors, and hence arc 
more liable to acute inllammatory attacks. During the pas' two 
years, I have seen two cases of emphysema of the lung with dilatation 
•"jfthe heart \\n\o\v^ i^ I ass blo'vcrs ; but I have not been al)lc to assure 
myself that these coiulitions are more fixuiuenth' met with among these 
workmen than those of anv other trade or business tailing. As a 
rule, tliey are a health)- set of men. 

Man) articles of Wheeling glass manufacture lind ready sale in tl)e 
in.irkcts of other cities — from Maine to California ; and it is. indeed, 



26 

remarkable ihat New England sand can be shipped to Wheelinf^, 
where it is made into the finest flint glass wares, and then these sent 
to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston for sale at even 
smaller prices than their own manufacturers can produce like arti- 
cles. Some idea may be had of the extent of the business done, when 
it is mentioned that to one house alone, the annual cost of packages, 
boxes, barrels, &c., for shipment of wares, is $1').000 ; and that dur- 
ing the past three months, over 16, 000 second-hand barrels have been 
used at a cost of $o,000. 

The superior quality of VVHieeling window glass is generally ac- 
knowledged. Several of the finer grades, usually cut into large panes 
closely resemble the best specimens of imported plute glass. 

Besidesihe manufacture of iron, nails and glass, there are several estab- 
lishments which are of very great im{)ortance, both on account of the 
amount of capital invested, and the number of skilled laborers they 
employ. First in importance among these, perhaps, are the two ex- 
tensive ship yards — one in North Wheeling, belonging to Messrs. 
Wilson, Dunlevy tt Co. ; the other in South Wheeling, belonging to 
Andrew Wilson, Esq. Many first-class boats are built at these yards, 
and furnished with the mo.st improved machinery from Wheeling 
shops. 

There are also .several extensive wagon and carriage manufactories 
in the citv the largest of which are the firms -Bodley <.t Son, Busby 
& Little, and the Messrs. McNabb. In these cstablishmcnls a very large 
capital is invested. Their trade is principally with the Soulli. and the 
suj)ply oftheir manufactures scarcely e(|uals the demand. 

'The woollen factorv of Bradley c^c Co. is a bu.sy institution, and sup- 
plies the home and other markets widi many excellent fabrics. 

In each of these branches of manufacture and labor, the escape from 
accident is so com{)Ietc that for one person killed or injured by factory 
machinerv, probabl}' ////r perish from prevcniable diseases — mainly 
producetl bv intenii)erance and its c(>ii)[)anion vices. 

But among all the trades which are carrieil on in the city, there arc 
none more unhealthy or which yield, according to the number em- 
|)l()ycd, a higher cleaMi return llian the several classes of sewing 
women -tiress niakers, milliners, and those engaged in anel for the 
several large tailoring establishineiiis. Many of these patient laborers 
live in small, ill-vciililaled hiiuv.s. and on fogg\ or smoky days work 
by gas light. Consumption, sliafered ncrxous system, disease of the 
liver, tlyspcj^sia and uterine lioubic are some of the ac(onq)am injjf 



27 

biUcr fruits of ihcir toils 'riiesc pains and penallics, iiowcver, lia\-e 
been greatly mitigalei,! during the past ten years by tlie great boon of 
the nineteenth century — that God-send lo wcMiien, the si:7U!ug ma- 
chitu — the most inferior pattern of which, in the absence of a better 
one, is worth in an\- fimil}- len /iines the price of its cost. It has in- 
creased tlie probability ol' iile of needle-women by giving lliem compar- 
ative freedom and comforts in [)lace of zo/itle slnh:rv and destitution. 
Hence, in a h\gienic point of view, the sewing machine is wort liv oi 
tlic encouragement of the prolcssion. 

Diet, J)i'iii7,'s, and ITahifs. 

The inhabitants generally live on plain, substan'ial food — princi- 
l»ally wheat bread, l)eef, pork, bacon, mutton, domestic fowls, with 
potatoes ami other culinary vegetables. The laboring ])Oj)ulati()n is 
uniformlv well fcti ; ami there are but few families among the lowest 
classes who do not re ceive animal food at least once a dav. There 
are two market houses in the city, and four market days weekly, ai 
whicli places and limes are e.\i)Osed for sale substanlia's and delic.icies 
ol every variety. The fruit supply is usually abundant, ami of the 
choicest quality. There arc also conveniently located numerous 
grecti i^ronJi'is, at which fresh meals and good vegetables mav alwavs 
l)e li;i(l at prices according to the market schechile. During tlie win- 
ter season all classes, ("orthodox" Jews excepted) consume more or 
less pork ; and the s.iusagi: f/ia/K./x do a thriving business. There are 
two large ]>ork-packing liouses in the cit\-, and these go far towards 
supplying the demand for of-fal. \'et notwithstanding the accustomed 
large consumption of pork, to this tlate, no case of tridiinoii'; disease 
has occurred in Wheeling. The quality of beef oiferetl for sale is 
generally gootl. 

Tlie^.v// market is o])en at all seasons of the 3ear, and ver\' often 
the suppl) is in excess of the demand. Besides bass, jack pike, sal- 
mon and catfish from the Ohio river fisheries, large quantities of lake 
fish are sokl at the different stands. 

Six months of the year, or during the oyster season, the hmcheon 
halls or saloons, several of which are fitted up with great j)ains, do a 
large business. In addition to these, there are many oyster de]>ots, 
Irom which families are sup])lied. I^arly and late in the ouster 
season, many cases of cliolera morbus and painful diarrhoea are an- 
nually produced from eating o\sters, assisted ma\'-l)e by the villainous 
comjiounds called sauces or ca/siip, in the tnanufacture of whicii ro//cu 

4 



28 

tomaloes and other decayed vegetables, found at tlie market stands, 
are employed, under the excuse that they '• make the best sauce.'' 

There is but little corn bread used by either class of [jcoplc, and 
perha{)s the greatest departure from the daily routine of wheat bread is 
in the use o'i buchvheat tlour tiuring the winter months, and then, as 
the result of such indulgence, follow uncomfortable itchings of the 
skin and much siratcJiing. There are several bakeries in the city, 
and while these supply good bread daily to huntlreds of families, at 
least nineteen-twentieths of all the housekeepers bake their bread 
In the baking o{ heavy bread, as well as j)astry generally, "baking 
powder," of Wheeling manufacture, is used, instead of yeast or other 
" rising." There are three or four bramis of i)aking powder put up 
in the home market, ail of tliem composed of cream of tartar, tartaric 
acid, and bicarb soda — but, no doubt, widel}- differing from each 
other in the j)roportion of these articles employee! in its manufacture. 
One of these /(vztvA/'j- has established a reputation in other cities, be- 
cause of its acknowledged excellence ; and the business done in this 
line alone by die proprietors is immense. 

The city mills are unequal to the demand of the flour market ; and 
to accommodate the deficiency thousands of barrels of different 
grades of Hour, made hom spring and fall wheat, are annually 
brought from the States of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. I have been 
assured by bakers on whose testimony I could relv, that thev use 
generally the best Hour the market affords : that thev Ao not mix 
mashed potatoes with the dough, Tior alum to make the bread wiiite 
and light — methods which are employed h\ some unprincipled bakers 
in otiier cities to enhance their profits. Recenth- the mills have en- 
gaged in re-grinding the shorts, by which process cheap Hour is 
olfered to the poor, who— if they cannot enjoy the so-called table 
comforts, luxuries and dainties at the command of the rich, eat 
reall}' the best (juality of breatl from necessity — because it is dark, and 
therefore costs the least sum of monev. In other words : the rich eat 
the,fA7/r/; or comj)aratively innutritions white bread; the poor, \.\\Ci:^/nten 
and phosphates or highly nutritious dark liread, and thus are saved 
to the miller 50 or GO lbs. of Hour on each barrel over the old imthotl 
of grinding, ant! to the consumer a ])recious gift — the nutritious 
element of Hour. 

The peojile of no city are happier in their supplv of drinking water, 
fbotli as to (jualit} and quantity, than the citizens of that portion of 



29 

Wheeling: which is su[)[)Hcd from the Oliio river. On account of ilie 
tortuous course and rapid current of this noble stream, the water is in 
constant agitation, and thus, in a great measure, freed from existing 
organic nurogen or other imyiurily, cither in suspension or solution. 
To those unaccustomed to its use. it is often rcpulsi\e because of its 
mudcHness, bui the mud itself, an argillaceous compound made up of 
very fine {)articles of silicious matter, is rc\\\y proiec/ive as an efficient 
purifying agent l)y wliich much of the impurity resulting from the 
solution or suspension of animal or vegetable matter, in process of de- 
composition, is either destroyed or carried down with the sandy parti- 
cles. The amount of solid matter varies, of course, with the turbid- 
ncss of the water, being more in rainy than in dry seasons. 

The mii(/ is also protective against lead poisoning to those ])ersons 
whose houses are supplietl with w^ater from the city basin. It is a 
well known fact that water, in passing through lead pipes, is very 
liable to become imi)regnated with die metal, if there is any access 
of atmosphere, and even where there is no access of air, if the water 
contain much carbonic acid, as is often the case, a portion of the 
metal will get into the water and poisoning may ensue from its use, — 
and the /'«/•(/• ///t- zvattr, the greater the danger of poisonous al«orp- 
tion. But in Wheeling, no case of lead poisoning has occurred from 
this source. The lead pi|)es leading from the streets to the houses 
are soon perfectl}- lined with a thick crust of earthy matter deposited 
from the water, which prevents al)Sor[)lion of the lead and the occur- 
rence of lead poisoning. 

In ih().se portions of the city which are not supplied \\o\x\ the basin 
—South Wheeling and the Island — well water, impregnated with 
lime, is used ; but the best of the wells contain water not half so 
good and pure as river water. 

The consum])tion of coffee, tea, and sugar is very general, and 
yearly on the increase. Mixed teas — black and green — have become 
popular during the last few years. 

The character of the milk sup{)ly in Wheeling is certainly very 
good, and in this res]K'ct both mothers and children are blest above 
the ordinary rule of tity measure. As Health Officer. I made this a 
special subject of incpiiry, and found that, with but ///;■((■ exceptions, 
the cows were well-fed and cleanly kepi in the country, or at least be- 
yond the city limits. In a word : that good and pure milk was daily 
served to the people at from 8 to 10 cts. pr, (juart. 

Ice cream furnished by confectioners does not uniformly aflord so 



30 

much gratLilalion ; for llie reason that it is too often made of skim- 
med millv, to which arrowoot is added, and may be, a small quan- 
tity of i^^ood cream. 

'J"he beverage dispensed from the soda foun ains is probably en- 
tirely free from the jioison of Icail : at an_\- raie, no case of lead poi- 
soning Ibllowing such indulgence has come to m\^ knowledge, 'l"he 
tubing is either entirely of tin, or tindmed, and the join'.s carefully, 
made. 

Spirituous liquors of \-ery bad c|ua]ity are much usei.1, but not to 
their former extent, d'liere are in the citv, including Soudi Wheel- 
ing, 17 wholesale and retail liipior stores ; bS ordinaries ; ;')() coffee 
houses, first-c'ass ; 14 second-cla.-.s : antl eight breweries. From 
these come man}- bitter fruits, in the />urJi is.j of which annually, 
enormous sums of money arc expended. 

d'hc domeslic wines soUl, var\' in strength from 3 to 13 pr. cent., 
alcohol ; malt litjuors, from :i to "> pr. cent., alcohol. d"o the 
cr'xlit ol' the Wheeling brewers be it said, tliat in the manufacture of 
beer, ale, ind portev, they are careful to employ the best cpiality of 
bark'}' and hops, thus atfoaling the consumers of their liquors, the 
majorit\' of whom are laboring men, an honest — -and when noL taken 
to excess — tonic, and nutritious beverage — entirelv free from poison- 
ous adulteration with /iiiv 7''>ii/!.i7, <<) itlti\ inii m, Ci/j'jir /> \in and 
other deadl}' drugs. In feeble conditions of bod\', howsoever pro- 
duced, malt litpiors of gooi.1 cpialiiy, are of:en productive of excel- 
lent tonic results. In such conduions s/,>:k i/// is of greatest value, 
and when administered with cod li\'ei' oil — the taste of which it com- 
pletely ci.sguises-— the analeptic pro[)erLy of l)oth articles is greatly in- 
creased. Thus administe 'ed, cod liver oil is often retained l)y weak 
stomachs when every other kind of food is ))i'(Uripd\' rejecleel ; and in 
all cases of faulty nutrition de]iendent on want of a.ssimilation of 
fatty matter, this vehicle po.ssesses, indeed, excellent advantages, and 
is Stifir th.m whiskey or bi'au.h',''' 13 ir, notwithstanding, the 
familiarit}' of the profession generally with die value of cod liver oil, 
and therefore its already extensive enq)lo\inent in the )>ractice of 
medicine, I am lonfuU-nt that, as a food, it is not sulficientlv em- 
ployeil in the /hiislJv, or lor the correction of niabiulrilioii of infancy 
and childhood. Ahiny children, at birth, are so thin ami jxaor in 
tlesh tliat they seem to have been really slarv<:d in utero ; and when 

• Kor imi<h v.iluablo inform.ition im Ilia siibjiu;! of " M ■" //</«'</« and tlii'ir Tin in ni nil,- Arlinii," 
noo paper in tlicj Medical Reconl, Aug. 2, '69, by bradford S. Tlionip.von, M. D.. Now York. 



31 

l)at a few days oM, [)rcsciU a 7cri/ikLd and '/^tv/ ai'pcarance. Along 
wilh dds condition frLHiucntly, ihc slonuich is so irritable that it re- 
jcets even niolliei"s milk, and every allein[)t at siickin,,^ a^;L;'ra vales the 
diarrhcea, which, ])crhaps, set in at birth. In snch unpromising 
staccs of the s^siein L have in man\' instances \vi:nessed tiie irulv 
wonderful powers and eliicacv of cotl hver o\\, which, when admin- 
istered in small closes and with from 1 to 2 grs. sub. nit. l)ismuih, 
is easily retainei.1 by the st()in<ich. In cases of such extreme irrita- 
bilit_\- of the stom.ich that the oil could not be retained, I have given 
the bismuth — prohil);iing evervthing else, eiiher of food or medicine, 
by the stomach — and orderetl iinni^n'oiix \\'\\\\ cod li\-er oil, n'om heat! 
to foot once or twice a (.lay, and the child wrapped in llaniiel. Un- 
der this plan of simple treatment I hive sclmi the process of improve- 
ment and lluiening at once begin, and min\- withered, scra\vn\- in- 
fants rescuetl from deatii 1)\- actual s',ar\ation. 

Cdiildren, to live, must be well fetl, have good iviier and /;////' / 
and the nioriality among them aflords a most sensitive test of the 
y//(//////l' and '/n.i/i/y ol the^e supplies. Of the two extremes, children 
are oftener underfed than overfed ; and, l)esides, the inllueiices of 
transmissible weakness, ii' not disease, from parous, the i)oor diet 
being aided in the majori;\- oi ins aiKes b\- ([uacking and drugging 
with W'inslow's .S_\rup and oiiier (liiendnig nostrum-^, is it any won- 
der that so man\' of then! die in iniancN'.'^ 

i'lie moral obligations resting upon modiers to rear their own 
children by the means nature has gi\en them, ought not. except Irom 
very great nece^siiy, to be evatled or (lisregirded ; f)r truly the doii'd . 
ol this blessed privilege cannot o herwise l)e con.^idered than as a 
sail mi.-ilortune to lunh modier and child. Ac-cord;ng to Dr. Ma- 
[xjther, in suckling, the aveiage morialii}- is :>7.1 per cent., while 
among the haiuMed, it is (i:; ',) per cent. In jiroof that the}' are sen- 
sible Christian ladies, the mothers of Wheeling suckle their own 
oltspring, and have not allowed the tlangerous practice o'i 7Vil-nurs- , 
iiig lo lake looih(.)ld among them. The j:i-.i/h:/>!<^nigiu' property of alc- 
is well known to nursing mothers, and for that reason it is a common 
resort in cases of deficient milk sup|»!y. The <^?////-galactagogue pro- 
perly of I^elkulonna is as well known to the profession of Wheeling. • 

Foiucco .AM) CicvRs. — d'here are in the city ;](i manufactories of 
'/obiuro A\u\ Cigars, which altogether pav into the National d're.isury 
an annual income license of $150,000, or $1 10,000 from the man- 



32 

ufacturc and sale ofStoga cii^ars, and $40,000 from the sale of eiiew- 
ing tobacco. In these establisfinients many small boys ami a few 
females are employed— principally in stripping the tobacco — some of 
whom. notwiihslandinL; Ioiil,' experience at the business, often become 
sickenetl and so much relaxed from their labor, that they are com- 
pelled to "lay off" for a few ilays at a time, or until they have suffi- 
ciently recovered from the effects of their poisoniuLC. As a class, the 
laborers in tobacco houses are not hardy lookini^; men, but generally 
j)ale- faced. 

The liabit of chewing and smoking is very general and still in- 
creasing. It is the ])treni of m.xny obscure and palpable ills — ■ 
nervous and other troubles, for which j)hysicians are daily consulted, 
and which go on unim[iroved so long as the enervating habit is con- 
tinued. The practice of snuffing is now uncommon, and almost 
entirely confined to the aged : but the lilthy habit of snuff rubbing i.s 
quite common among the lowest classes of females, but even with 
the.se it is not so common as among the .sam'? class of country women. 

With the exception of liere and there a family among the very 
{)Oor, the j)eople of Wheeling habitually go well and genieelly 
clothed. If at all chargcaltle, it is for extravagance in dress, antl a 
too servile obedience to the tvranny of Fasliion. 

The .sacred oI)ligalions of the Christian .Sibbalh, as a (\a\ of rest 
from all secular employments, are well observe<l by all classes ; and 
it is a marked credit to the virtue and good behavior of the people to 
witness the regular turn out to church, esi)ecially among the children 
at Sabbath school hovirs 

The drinking saloons are closed on Sabbath, for which reason l)ut 
tittle opportunity is afforded for Suntlay debauch, and consequently 
very few arrests are m.ule b\- the police. Hut on holidav occasions, 
when the drinking houses are all open, then come examples of dis- 
sipation and vice ; and it is a familiar fact to physicians in all cities, 
that such (lays, besides filling loik-ups and occupying police courts, 
are immediately followed by a large increase of sickness among the 
poor. Wheeling has but few paupers, a less number, perhaps, than 
the average of our cities. The j>eople generally are j)rosperous and 
law-abiding. Indeed, gre>U crimes are .scarcely known among them. 

Sta 1 1 sties f etc. 

Chi i<( HKS. -That there is much eleg.uit. relineti, and virtucms so- 
cit'tv in WheeliiiLT is well attested bv the number ol churehes. church 



33 

members and value of cliurcli i)io})erty. Tliere are 2\ chunlics and 
25 congregations : Mediodisl — including 1 German and 1 African — 
8 churches ; value, $144,000 ; communicants, ]44{). Prcslnterian, 
5: value, 133,000 ; communicants. 959. Protestant Episcopal, 2 ; 
value, $83,000; communicants, 205; Baptist, 1 ; value, $12,000; 
communicants, 125; Lutheran, (ili'Verent sects) 5 ; value, $51,000 ; 
communicants, 1300. Discijj'es of Christ, 1 ; value, $4,000; corn- 
municants. 125. Roman Catholic, (Cathedral and Convent) Knglish 
and German. 2: value. $105,000; families, about 650. Jewish 
Synagogue, 1 : families, 33 ; total Jews, 207* Universalisl, 1 place 
of worship : members of society 55 or 60. Besides churches and 
congregations, the Young Men's (Christian Association of Wheeling, 
has become an important ]>ower in the hands of Protestants to do 
good generally, and is now a well established organization. 

Besides churches anti congregations, the several orders of secret 
.societies have won large memberships, because ot their ever reaily 
and abundant charity. 

Hospitals. — Wheeling Hos})ital, situated in the northern i)art of. 
the citv, is under the control of the Sisters of Charity, and contains 60 
beds. It is a well regulated institution, and docs credit to the city 
through its owners and governors ; and while it is the property oi the 
Cadiolic Church, by agreement, it serves the Cniteil States Govern- 
ment as a Marine Hospital. The fees are from $3 to 7$ per week, 
exclusive of professional attendance, and [)atients are at liberty to em- 
])lov from the city faculty, physicians and surgeons of their choice. 
Dr. John Frissell has worthily held the jjosition of attending surgeon 
since the date of its erection. Many important cases annually hnd 
their way thither, for medical and surgical treatment. 

The city cannot boast of a respectable public charity. The only 
in.stitution for the care of the sick, under citv control, is the " Pest 
House." for the reception and care of small-pox cases, which is situ- 
ated on the bank of Wheeling creek, outside of the corporate limits, 
and is most appropriately named. It is a one-story frame buiUling, 
containing three rooms, and every winter accommodates several i)a- 
tients — principally negroes and mulattoes from Cincinnati and Pitts- 
burgh. 

Prisons, etc., — I'he county jail, the only j)rison house in Wheel- 



*In Wheeling, aselsjwhero over the world, the Jews are sliop-keepers, and Kcnerally ))rosi)or >us 
in lui.siiicss. i lifty care for thdir own poor, have no beggars, nor illegitimate children, as far US 
my observation among them e.\t*;nd.s. 



34 

ing, except the iem[)orary /ok-iip, is situated in the very heart of the 
city, and is, indeed, an inianious place of punislnn'.'nt : a disgrace 
really not only to hodi county and city, but also to humanity itself, 
and should not he tolerated in an intelligent and virtuous commu- 
nity. Its plan of construction is nearer in accordance widi the style 
of j)rison architecture of the sixteenth than of the iiiiutcinlh cenlurv : 
and nothing distinguishes the horrible place from the })atterns belong- 
ing to the dark ngcs. save that it is warmed by steam, abundantly sup- 
plietl widi gO(Ki water for drinking ])urposes, and is governed by a 
liumane, gentlemanly keeper. It is jointly occupied b\' the county 
and city, and from these sources it affords from 10 to .-^O inmates the 
year round. Daring the eirlv vears of the war, it was constantly 
overcrowded. 'I'lie cells, SxlO feet, are arrangetl in tiers on the sec- 
ond and third lloors, and shut in on either side of the main hall by 
.solid (hnible doors of wood and iron. The lloors are of stone ; and 
each cell has \V<,-,vakr closet — not af.er the most approved style of such 
convenience — ami, very fre([uently, its vermin, too. There is not a 
hath-tub belonging to tlie establishment, and from the simple mention 
of this fict may Ite inferred the character and cpiantity of personal 
Hllh now auvl then e\hif)ited among the ])risoners, tW(X and some- 
times three, of whom are assigned to the smie cell. In the con- 
.struction of these a[)artments, as in the plan of the buildinggenerailv, 
every i)rinciple of hvgiene w<is criminally violateil, and the only sign 
of even an attempt at their ventilation is a small oi)ening, 4x1:2 inches, 
in the wall near the arched ceiling. Fortunately, however, a relic of 
barltarism prevails among the rules and regulations of the prison — a 
" ( /'iaiii-:^\ui(^- : " and bu' for the blessing of d:\'\\\ exercise on the 
streets whieh it insures, tin- maintenance of the health of ])r:soners 
wouki lie ini])ossible, and the attending ])h\">ician would have \\\< 
hands full continually. Female [Misoners cannot ha\e the benefit of 
out-iloor 'werc ise, and for ihis reason, notwithslandi)ig tlieir larger 
libert\- in tin; halls, tlu.'y suffer mo>i from a term in jail. Surely a 
new i>rison buikling, with sanitar\- pro])orti()ns and adxaniages, in 
liarmonv widi stience and the demands of an enlightened humanilv. 
is severely neeiled : and our county and cit\' authorities should move 
in the matter at the earliest practicable period. 

The cil\' /(>(k-!i/> — introductory if) the jail, and with which it is in 
jux tai)osition— is not less odoriferous and reiudsive. Into these dens* 
all clas.ses of offenders against the oi\iinances of the ciiy are thrust for 
a perioil varying fr^m ". to ;;0 da\'s — if they have not the money to pay 



the fines imyiosed : a punishment not only meted oai to iVieii ;\nif 
\vomen, but also to jv//*/// ^nx to whom a term in jail is a very ba[)- 
tism into villainy, aiul a lianlenini; of heart which, in ninety-nine 
ca.-es out of a hundreil, deprives them of all sense of shame, leads on 
to bolder deeds, and insures a bad cliiractcr for life. In no commu- 
nity was tliere ever greater nL.'ed of a House of Correction than is now 
felt in the city of \Vheelin,^^ .Such an institution, for both sexes, is a 
pressing necessity, and it is sincerely to be hopetl that the Legislature, 
soon to assemble, will make an a[>propriation for that purpose. 

.'schools and C'or.i.KCiES. — Kach ware! has its common or public 
school, in which both Lnglish and (lerman are taught to 2,4 45 pu- 
pils — males. 1,220; females, 1,22;> —between the ages of 6 and 19 
years. Tliere is also a school jtrovided for the colcjred people on city 
account, which has an average attemlance of 47 scholars^males, 27; 
females, 20 — between the ages of and 45 ! f^esides commori 
.schools, there are several nourishing private schools — -Protestant and 
Catholic, primary and college — for both .sexes. The Wheeling 
Female College — a Protestant iirstitution — was never in more flour- 
ishing contlition than at present. At this .school the most tinished 
education may be acquired at nxnierato expense. 

Mt. I)e Chantal — the best ap[)ointed Catholic school in the coun- 
try lor young ladies — is situated within four miles of VVheeling, on 
the line of the Hempfield railway, near the Peninsula grounds partic- 
ularly described on a preceding page. The- location of this school is 
beautiful, indeed, and oneoftiie most attractive spots in the vicinitv 
of Wheeling. 

The public school buildings are generally large, well ventil.ued, and 
su[)plied with hirnilure of modern pattern. There are also ample 
playgrouiuls, in which the [)erio(.ls of recess are spent in health -pro- 
nioting frolic. The hours of school are horn 9 to 12, and fron> 1.', to 
4, including !.'» minutes recess before and after noon ; aiul although 
diese hours of study are a vast improvement upon the custom of tei« 
years ago, the daily confinement is \-et too long by at least two hours. 
Teachers and parents often seem to forget the value of sound [)lnsical 
<levelopmcnt, without which, iihleed, there can be no lasting mentil 
activity, It is unfortunatel)- the case too iVequently that punv Inniics 
Ai\d prtcoiioiii niituh, whitdi so often go hand in hand, are pushed at 
.school to the lamental)]e extent of making " philosophers at 10 and 
fools at 40 years of age." ' 

When the; weather will permit, children shouKl be allowed to learn 



their lessons out of doors, and thus wliile cultivatin:^ the mind sulTer 
the body to gro^v witho.u restrain'. In the public schools of the city 
physiology and hygiene form a part of the general education, and 
these branches hive been foun I most interesting to the voung. Dr. 
Dalton's little Treatise on Physiology and Hygiene is unsurpassed by 
anv book of the same kind, and should be in every school in the 
land. :• 

Pi'HLic Libraries, etc. — The Wheeling Library occupies rooms 
on the second floor of Odd Fellows' Hall, corner of Fourth and Monroe 
streets, and contains 35,000 volumes, among which are several stand- 
ard works on medicine, surgery, ph\siolog\', and psychology; besides 
it is in receipt of :24 newspapers and j)eriodicals regularly. Under the 
auspices of its directors, public lectures and readings are periodically 
afforded, and these intellectual feasts for the spread of popular educa- 
tion, are usuillv well patronized. 

The State Library, of verv recent origin, and situated temporarily 
on Fifth street, contains 5,295 volumes, but on account of the unin- 
teresting character of its literature to the general public, it does not 
attract much attention. 

There are 8 newspapers published in the city : 2 daily, 2 tri-weekly. 
and 4 weekly— 2 of the latter (}erman — 'all of which are edited with 
good ability. In addition to this current supply of matter — political 
and moral (!)- -there are oiher reading room-; besides those con- 
nected with the })ublic libraries above named : and also several nrivs 
depots, some of whose counters, while they are constantly suj)plied 
with the latest and most reputable of American daily, weekly and 
mondily prints, and many useful and excellent books, are too well 
occupieti with the varied forms of immoral and exciting trash, which 
emblazoned with cunningly devised ami terril)ly ex[)ressive wood 
cuts, appeal to the passions and dwarf the virtue of the youth of the 
community, who are its most liberal ])urchasers and consequently its 
most frequent victims. 

Pr,.\rK.s OF Amuskmknt.— -The only places specially set apart for 
public amusement are Washington Hall, corner of Market and Mon- 
roe streets, and Turners" Hall, on Market street, above Madison. At 
one or the other of these there is nightly, almost the year round, an 
engagement of some sort, and the streets are pla-cardetl accordingly. 
Washington Hall, however, is the theatre, and during the winter is 
the centre of attraction to hundreds of Wheeling j)eople. 



The Athcnx'um, erected several years since, mainly for tliealrical 
purposes, and siluated on the corner of John and Market streets, did 
not reward its founders and owners. During the war of the rebellion 
it was converted into a military prison, ami became a wretched place 
of conrmemenl and punishment. It was burned to the ground in 
October, 1S08. 

I\I..vKRi.\GKS. - -The followini; lal)k' is com{iiled from the license 
recoriis tiled in the Clerk's Oflice, during h\e years ending December 
31, 18GS. Hut many ol our young couj)les make excursions "O'er 
the border," antl are united in wedlock according to the niore liberal 
usage of Penns\lvania. If the number of these were known, doubt- 
less the annual total would be increased by 15 or 20. 

MARRIAGES AND NATIVITIES. 





















Widower 




Amer. 


GE». 


Irish 


Eng. 


FRENCH 


Total 

105 


Widower 


Widow 


& Widow 


1864 


64 


37 


9 


3 


2 


17 


6 


4 


1865 


76 


51 


17 


5 


3 


152 


16 


9 


6 


1866 


64 


52 


24 


10 


2 


152 


22 


21 


12 


1H67 


81 


66 


22 


6 


2 


177 


17 


17 


5 


1868 


85 
360 


69 
275~ 


12 
84 


10 
34 


3 


179 


20 


31 


7 


Total 


12 


765 


92 


73 


1 34 



Average 


age 


ol 


American 


males, 
females, 


.•^7.^sl. 

2-^ 74. 


<• 






Irish 


males, 
femali's, 


4J7.19. 

2\ m. 


•' 






(ierman 


males. 


2S,7r). 



the above has been con- 
among Americans : Male 



females, :>4.N1 

According to the returns from which 
structe<l, the greatest disparitv of age i< 
(bachelor) 72 years. Female (Miss) 15 years 1 In recording nativi- 
ties I have recognized the husband's place of birth as the .standarti of 
division. Americans anil (icrmans freely intermarry : American and 
Irish, orOerman and Irish, not fre(iuentl\'. 

For valuable assistance in sear( hing out these figures from the Re- 
cords tiled in the County Olerk's C)fiiic. I am indebted to W. I,. 
Parkinson, F.sc}. 

y)/;7/i!j. -From the register of birilis the (ullowing figures have 
been derived : 

TABLE UV BlUTilS 1 OK 6 VEAUS. 





MALES. 


FEMALES, j 


TWINX. 


MALES. 


FEMALKH. 


TOTAL. 


1863 


210 


180 i 


6 


4 


7 


390 


1964 


160 


153 ' 








313 


ia6.i 


226 


172 1 


16 


lO 


1 


398 


1866 


! 144 


16M 


7 


t 3 




312 


1867 


183 


17,1 


12 


JO 




3,56 


1868 


301 


269 


6 




a 


tm 


— -— 


___ 





._ 


1 


-. 





'IV.tal. 


1224 


1145 


41 


1 31 


16 


2369 



There are included in this table but 17 colored children, which in 
all probability does iml ivjjk seal the whole number of this class ol 
births within the limits o\ the city. Otherwise the returns are, no 
doubt 111 the main turrect. In iy<)6, one case o'i triplels was re- 
port cvl. 



38 



•p. ti, > ji -y. v.^'-z^ 






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►- tit 



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Oi X v> o ts 









— ■(- >£ tC; U 



OP C c: CJ i£ — til 



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-I t£ — -r c -^ '^ . :,■ — 



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',0 ^ - I - 1 V! O C: '£ »1 t .X - to fX — 

O: X Jb ta Cn W O ■« ti "- on t/< 10 ti >— 



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i t»- 



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I'c)l)'ll 

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rop'u 



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;^n 



The prcccclinii; lal)Ie, showinj; the annual mortality of the city of 
Wheeling for eleven years, and liie ratio of deaths from various dis- 
eases, (in comi)arison with London and New York mortuary retnrnsj 
is as complete as the indefinite character of many of the death certif- 
icates — (e.g.) " l)roj)Sv," "Consumption," " Inllammation of the 
Lungs," " Lung Disease," etc., would allow. 

The following table exhibits the mortality for nine \earsand eleven 
months, with the annual and total (.leaths : 

DEATHS IN IllF. CIIY 01"' WHEELING FOR NINE YEARS FOR EACH MONTH 





AND SEASON- 


-ANNlAl, AND TOTAL DEATHS. 






WlXTKR 


M'KINO 1 ."SUMMER 


Fall 


Win. 


Total 




Tan Fet). 


Vlar.Apl 


Mi>y Tun Jut Aiiif 


S^p.Oct Nov 


21 




iHfil 


•2-i 31 


36 31 


28 


25 41 24 


3 ■ 24 28 


346 


i Ml.'2 


3i y7 


3^ 3t 


32 


3'> .5M 41 


23 33 1 5 


21 


3 4 


lHi3 


31 2". 


33 30 


38 


25 20 '.52 


29 25 37 


44 


389 


1 {<4 


2^ 2"> 


:iti 4.-> 


37 1 42 50 46 


39 37 29 


3 1 


444 


Ifi) 


31 3i 


4'.) 3fi 


32 5) f.8 41 


.16 25 2'. 


32 


445 


IS-iti 


31 3J 


• 5 31 


20 19 29 29 


22 27 2G 


23 


3)1 


IKlM 


28 35 


22 31 


18. 3i 31 27 


2-> 17 25 


3) 


322 


IHI'f 












339' 


isn't 


31 32 


27 28 


23 1 18 28 17 


\r, 13 15 






To^al 


■)77 


7fin 




8:t6 


593 


•J114 


.339 



Average annual mortality, 332.22. 

Average per cent (S years), for spring, 95 ; summer, 104.5. 

Drugs. — There are in the city 3 wholesale Drug Houses and 13 
Prescription Stores. At the latter, not only are " prescriptions care- 
fully filled at all hours," but there may be had any article in the no- 
tion line, including all sorts of (piack medicines, stomach bitters, 
etc. The entire amount of drugs consumed annually is very consid- 
erable and no doubt gradually increasing. Patent or pro[)rietary 
medicines, however, according to the testimony of one of the largest 
wholesale dealers, have greatly lost favor with the masses during the 
last few years. The U'hecling wholesale drug market supjilies a 
wide district of country in West Virginia and Eastern Ohio, and the 
j/)/r// of therapeutics within its realm has very much altered and im- 
proved in 10 years. Now, few orders, when com[>ared with their 
frecpiency in Ibrmer years, are received for calomel, jalajt, scam- 
mony, rhubarb, ipecac, tartar emetic and other time honored heroic 
remedies; but in their stead, come demands for tonics and stimu- 
lants— the pre[iarations of iron, (|uinine. str\'chiua or these com- 
bined ; and particularly for those of another class, ioditle and brom- 
ide of potash, etc. 

The apothecaries are generally well educated in their depirtment, 
and thus far no serious mistakes in reading or lilling prescriptions 
tittach to their historv. 



'The recording olprk preserved no classitication of inoiil lily returns fur 1H(M. and Uie writtxf 
<Kiuld not JInil thi niiirirui^t to complete the table. 



40 

Physicians. — Tliere are in Wheeliiiii; 19 reo;ular physicians and 
surgeons. Besides tliese, there are 2 persons who practice Homceo- 
pailiy — that "negation oC p/iysui\ as well as in medicine ;" 3 " Kc- 
leciics," and one "Water Doctor." There are also 5 Dentists in the 
city, who are well skilled in their profession 

Dr. — Korsylhe was probably among the first medical men who 
took up permanent residence in Wheeling, if not i\\c Jirsl doJor who 
put out a shingle ; and up to the year 1819, when the population of the 
town numbered 1500, ien other j)hysicians hati come in to help possess 
the field. These were : Dr. — Downev, Dr. — Ralf. Dr. — Toner, 
(the editor of the second newspaper publisfied in the place). Dr. .Mar- 
tin Todd, Dr. Joshua Morton, Dr. John Eofl", Dr. | W. Clemens. 
Dr. J. Kepner, Dr. — Townsend, ami Dr. \ S. Todd, who is still 
living. During the next 3U years, or up to 1850, seveial other gen- 
tlemen were added to the list, the majority of whom are still living, 
.^mong the dead I meniion the name of Dr. Y. A. Wehrman, a very 
learned and most skilful (jcrman physician anci surgeon, who came 
from Hano\er to Wheeling about the year 1840. He died in 1851, 
greatly regretted by all who knew him. He was an accom[)lished 
acanith.r ; ancl l)ring entirely familiar with the literaiure of his naive 
country, he was the first man in Wheeling to advocate and practice 
successfullv the turning ol die eliild In ex'eriial manipulation, ac- 
coriling, no doub". io the precepts laid down bv the great (jermaii 
accduclier and ph\siciaii. Dr. Jiislu.-^ 11. Wigand. of Hamburg, who 
published his new practice between tlie\eais 181:^ and I NriO, and 
enjoyed such general confidence that all Kurope accejjed, without 
question, whaii'ver edine from bis \n\\. 

I be piesent .\tiilu.s (;!' the proli ssmn m Wheeling is of the most re- 
s|KCtal)ie char.Kier ; and in no other cil\ ol the same size have all 
classes of ])! opie gieater c.iiise of thankful boasting in their supply 
of well educated, skillul and successful jilivsicians. These gentle- 
men are generalb tiiu(>iir,iii/ in the dilieieiit departments of their pro- 
fession, and, at the same time, are expert .md apj)reciative manipula- 
tors of the \alual)le implements dUil aitis which science and art have 
placed at their command tor the investigation and treatment of di.sease. 

'Ihe oiilv institutions set a[)art for })rolessional imjirovement are 
'I7i< W/h,/i>ii^' ,in(i (>/it(i (\>tt)ilv MkUhiI Sr'i/,/\, and \\\r Mi. n'SiOpiial 
^oiulv, both ol whuh were (.onceived and brought lorili last year 
(18G8). 1 he loimer, embraces the names of the niajoi iiy of the 
medical men of the cit\' aiul couiit\' ; the latter, though as \ci 
scarcely more than a '•noble wurk in endnNo," is uonhy of the re- 
cognition it has riieixed. 

.8UR(iKKV. l'"or the hist ;>() Mars ihepriiKipal part of the jiatronage 
of this specialt\' has becai jjossessed 1)\' Dr. h'hn Irissell, who is yet 
an active member ol the citv facultv.- ."save a few brilliant plastic op- 
eialions, and for the removal of cataract, etc., perfoiined liy 
Dr. S. V. Hullihien, .1 ^-urgLon Dmtistol Wheeling, who perished 
i'OUJthe lnaugur<iiion or National Hotel sickness, in 1^'J7, Dr. hris- 
sell has won a uuijoiiiy uf the d;flicul: and major honors of hs ta- 



41 

vorite branch. He has performed the operation of Ulhotomy (lateral) 
.f/.r times with successful result — 3 patients between 25 and 30 years 
of age ; 1 at IG years ; 1 at 7 years, and one at 4 years of age. 
Excepting 3 other cases, upon 2 of which Ulhotrity was performed, 
each bv a distinguished Philadeli)hia surgeon — one of the cases in 
Philadelphia, several years since successfully, the other, last year, in 
Wheeling, with fatal result — and the remaining case, upon which 
lithotomy was performed successfully 25 years ago by Prof Smith, 
of Baltimore — these complete the record of all the cases of stone in 
the bladtler operate<l upon and proj)erly chargeable to ihis region of 
country. 





Besides the special services above recorded to the credit of the pro- 
fession, there are several younger men in Wlieeling of excellent sur- 
gical ability, some of whom, during the late war, had large experi- 
ence, and since in civic surgery, have made for themselves not less hon- 
orable marks. Amon<r these! may mention Dr. R. \V. Hazlett, of 
South Wheeling— to whom I am greatly indebted for permission to 
present the accompanying figures of a valuable contribution to mechan- 
ical surger)- : A Splint 7vilh Ring, for the treatment of fractures of the 
surgical and anatomical neck of the humerus and of the humerus 
itself, which in his practice has given greater satisfaction than any 
other form of appliance with which he is acciuainted. 



42 

With sliglit m()dificau()n--r(jducing llie length of the sph'ntso as to 
[)ermit the elbow lo fall below ii to procure elevation of the arm — it 
ma) be, used in the trea'irient of fractured acr()mi')n and coiacoid. It 
may also b; employed in cases of fracture of the clavicle, with the ad- 
dition of the stuffed collar of the Vox apparatus on the sound shoulder, 
to which tapes are attached from the lower end of the splint. Dr. 
Hazlett claims for his new splint the following advantages : I. Iin- 
mediate adaptation, 2. Injured parts constantly exposed to view, 
thus admitting dressings and other applications for the reduction of 
inflammation, etc. 3 Perlect immol)nity of fracture, with arrest of 
muscular action. 4 Passive articular motion for prevention of 
anchylosis at any stage of union. 5. I'"reedom from j)ressure upon 
the a.xillary vessels. G. Simplicity and economy of construction con- 
joined with easy adaj)lation. 

I regret exceedingly that I ain unable to present also a cut of 
another valuable surgical invention — an Interdental Splint — made 20 
years ago by a Wheeling phvsician and surgeon, Dr. Robert H. 
Cummins. Until within the last few years, the treatment of fractures 
of the Maxillary bones reflected but little credit upon the profession; and 
the great variety of appliances, lig.itures, s|)lints, Ijandages and pads, 
usee' by the most distinguislied surgeons in all countries — from the 
splints of Ambrose Pare to the clamp, clasps, bandages and slings 
used by Chopart, Desault, Bush, Lonsdale, Malgaigne, Mutter. 
Hamilton, Gross and others, have all been witnesses of greater or less 
failure to accomplish the object in view : to retain the fractureil ex- 
tremities in perfect aj)position un;il union was effected. Dr. Cum- 
mins' splint fully meets this indication. It was originally made of 
iron, but it may now be made of vulcanized India-, ubber. In sev- 
eral [)articular^ it resembles Dr. Covey's splint. Its iiorizontal sur- 
faces are cup-shaped, witli sul'ficient tlepth to receive the crowns of the 
teeth. It is kept in position by a mental compress, screw-pad under 
(he chin and rami of the jaw ami occipit )-frontal bandage. 

Accidents recpiiring surgical aitl are becoming more and more 
tonimon ; but considering the large nundK'r ot jiersons who are daily 
exposeil about the different railro.uls, in the miinerous manufac- 
tories and ini(.hiiie shops, coal mines, ami from the explosion of 
coal oil lamps, the number of such occurrences is, indeed, sur[)ris- 
ingly small. The coal mines, in whic h hundreds of laborers are 
constantly emphned, are well protected from the accnnuilation of 
«ulfocatin.r g asses, I )\- large as|)irating ////f.v or //■i/ini^s through the 
hill, and thus all danger from iLi/nps is prevented ; l)Ul occasion dly 
serious injury results to miners from fdling of the aixhes, blasting, 
etc. The explosion of coal oil lamps is a prolific source ol" horrible 
death--i)rincipally from careless handling o{ Jirly lamps. From this 
cause several deaths annually occur. 

Obstetrics. 

With llie exceplion of the occasional empUnineiit of the services of 
an ignorant, adventmous i^ra/i/iy, this br.uich of practice is in the 



43 

hands of intelligent regular physicians. Deliveries generally arc 
easy, requiring but little necessitous interference ; but they are no 
doubt becoming more and more diOicult. For a part of the material 
presented in the annexed table, I am indebted to Dr. A. S. 'I'odd, 
whose practice in Wheeling now covers a i)eriod of over 40 years. 
In a note accompanying his list of cases, Dr. Todd remarks: "I 
have seldom used Instruments, not exceeding half a dozen times in all 
these; and the mothers did well." This infrequency of resort to 
" instruments," however, by Dr. Todd, does not correctly represent 
the present practice of the obstetric art in Wheeling ; and yet, not- 
withstanding the late increased use of forceps, the parturient process, 
is now even more safely gone through with, to both mother and child, 
as a rule, than at a more primitive period, when instruments were 
only thought of in cases of terrible emergency. 

BIRTHS, PRESENTATIONS, ETC.— 2565 CASES. 





tc 


1 


c 1 ' 


! \ ; III { ! 


1 












So 


, ! 


.2 1 1^1 ■ 


' J .ij§ i.i 

lO'?, 0=1 'C-S' 








^ 






o 



< -r. a 






. 3 

£ '- 


9 


5. 




1 

•5 




o 


Males 
Fema 
Prim 


Verte 
Face, 
Arm 
Breet 
Knee 


Ifllifllli 

;i, |£ Cb ^ tS r" ^ ic '^ 




j 






s 


Dr. Todd .... 


l.'>S4 


780 794' 


1474' 3 92 1 


i '4 16 .'ilBll .5 32' 85 5 


2I 1 


3 




Dl-. Reeves*.. 


991 


53(1 461 173 


939 2 3: 7; 2' 1 2] 3 9* 2; .5 4, 1 13; 37 2; 1| 


'.il 1| 


Total 


26ffi 


1310 12.TO I73I 


2413 .T 12 9 3 


1: 2' 7 2.i' 7!21 15' 6 45 


122 7 


3 


1 


6 


ll 



The annexed table exhibits the months of birth, time of da\- and 
average duration of 135, of the 901 c.iscs in which a more particulai 
record was kept. 

MnSrilS OF lURIIIS, Kl(\. IN 135 lASKS. 



5 i S. 



Avernfio diiiMtidii ol' ImIhii-. ft. 37 lioui 
Belivcicd a. m., 71. Dclivcn-d i-. m., iU casi 





C 








y 


.o 


c 


_5 


M 


t 




J 






tt 


a 


■? 


s 


1: 


'I 


X 


C 


'^' 


o 


f. 


13 


I'J 




n 


! _ 


— 








s-s. 









Iiistruiii 



it;il iiiliTtVi-i'iu'i' waH resorted 
ciuiiiit ot iKiiM-ow pelvis; and 



"These eases occurred in country and villai;i' iiraclicr 
to in but ilni, instanopt; once on acoouiii of ec-liiinpsi:i 
once on aci-iiutit of per-istrtit iiuil!". 

The twi. children who pi-esi'ntcd tlic face, were born alive ni'tiv (piicU Init severe laI)or. Tliree 
of thchreiM-h preM'iitations occurred anions thetive twin births. In om- case with tlnv''--'. in two, 
with s, >;,„■> chdd. In the tliri'c arm presentations Kiiie of a twin labor' the children were delivered 
t).v version, an<l born dead. 

In Mienian.iKcincnt of the three cases of phicent.i pricvia. //", were delivered by version— children 
dea<l: in the remaining ease, theiilacenta was d.lacheil and tlie lahcir then letl to I he unaided but 
vitrorons etforts of nature. -the ctiild b(.rn alive. .M..tlier^ rernvered. 

In both casesof iirdapsed funis, the cord was r.-turoed and relaiiied, l.y position of the palient 
on face and knees; both children liorn living' 



44 

Cktmixal Aisokiio.v, Kic — Ii cannot be saul lluu Wheeling is free 
from the practice of tliis wide-spread, rai)idly increasing sin of the 
limes, which, no'.withslanding die l)rogre^s of civilization and the 
spread of religion, goes on from year lo year widi bolder step among 
all classes of society to the more and more abundant harvest of /le/n/ 
dcstriiiiim and death of guilty mothers. Surely the clergy all over 
the land, should unite earnestly with honorable members of the med- 
ical profession in the effort lo create in every community a sentiment 
against the enormities of this social evil — high crime — which, by mar- 
ried [)ersjns, is too ofx-n regarded as harmless and justifiable either 
to diminish the numb.,"- of pirticipan'.s in i):)vert\', or for the more 
selfish j)urpose of injuring smdl funilies and tewer tares to the 
rich Wlio will sav hu those — 'he majority — -who resort to this 
practice of in/'nifi' i /i\ and incur all die terrible dang^-rs of the [)ro- 
cess, lor the pur[)ose of hiding the >h ime of scJui/ion and il/igi/ii>i,!iv, 
are the greatest sinners.^ If it were possible to recognize dilTerent de- 
grees of criminality in this offending, and for which excuses might, 
severally be offered, then, the latter class would be enlitlcti to greatest 
.'sympathy. 

W'hil" it has been foun 1 iinpo>sible insecure positive i-/?// concern- 
ing the frecjuency of die [)ractice of criminal abortion in Wheeling, 
1 lia\'e of)' lined sufficient inlormidon on tlu subject to satisfy me th it 
it is now n(; uncommon resort, not only in the city, l)ut throughout 
the country, und-r the e.KCuses and lor the purposes al)Ove named; 
and tha' because of the degree of alloA-ance with which it is viewed 
!)}• the pu!)lic it is rapidly on the increa.se. 

Of the children who ire born under the curse of illcgitiinac\-, the 
large majorit\- [> -rish during ihe first weeks of life from want o( 
proper care, and peih.ijK from over doses of cordials, soothing s\rups, 
etc., in the hands of t rv kind nurses ; and after death, they are not 
alwa\-s lioiKired with a drlifi'jlc in due form, but sometimes get a 
most ignoble buriil or baptism .-' 

l"\_)undlings are [irovided for at county expense, and the number 
of these aiiiiuall\' does not exceed two or three. 

While there is not a house of /'//V/ /// f^juic in the city, there are 
several [private brothels or [)laces of .iss'gnation for ihe accommoda- 
tion of libertines and their paramours, d'lie number of prostitutes 
has been variously estimated, but prol).ib!\- dcjes not exceed 63 while, 
and about the same number of colored, persons of well cstablisheil 
cliaracter. * This, however, is a most tlillicult question to answer 
when in(piired of anv citv, because of the unasceriainable number 
of (iandcstinc [>roslilHliS — as Uuchatalet calls them — -wlhi, wliile they 
make a trade of their persons, engage in various occupations and by 
their singular industry s.'cin to be \'irtuous, if not al)o\-e suspicion ; 
and from these down to the lowest class of wretchetl cn-atures, (ot 
which there are but six or eight in Wheeling) who, besides the vices 
of their traffic, wallow in the streets and alleys — are drunken, con- 
stantly diseased, and spend at least three-fourths of their lime in jail, 

*To ariunurijclic Moiiib lt of the Police? forco I am niuiiily indebted for these tiRurcs. 



4.5 



there are several di.siinci tias.-es cf ]):osiilutc^. A hrw simulaid nf lioine 
etliK-.Tii(in 'li<-' de^ire lo shine in line chess, imnioral hooks, passion, 
love anil desertion, toi^elher with idleness — Uiese, in all coniniunilies, 
r.ie ihe nujsl h LiiUul causes of |)ros;ituiion ; and whin a)i unlorlii- 
naie woman is iin])e!led from eidier of the inlluenees just leciled to 
advertise herself, she is not lonii,' in lindint;- w jariictps inininis. 

Besitles [)rosUluli()n, there is another moral jjeslilence at present 
s\vee]MnL!; over the land--in cities, towns, vil]aL;es, and throu,L,dioui 
the rural districts -whiih is sappin.L;" the \er\' ioundatKiiis of manhood 
atid NieMuiL; a rich and ahnndanl harvest to thievin<;" (juaeks in the 
lariter cities. It is si:i.r-Aiusi-; ; and Wheeling; possesses her lull 
share ol' the victims of this seciet vice, upon many ol whose sicklv 
(.ounlenances are wrilii-n die unmi>takal)le eviden;.es of their ,i;inlt, 
and the siLins of comiiiL' ^itater weakness of holh body and ndnd- • 
AwA pi'cmaiure iK\Uh ! Surei\, parents and ij:uardians, ami all others 
who have control of l)o\s should look well to this subject. 

(JL'.\CKi;i<v — Notwithslamiinijj the i^oodl}' numher ol honest, well 
educated aiul succe.ssrul n/i^ular ph)>itians and sui'Ljcon;-- in the city, 
and also the manv well remcnd)ered ami c(.»nslantl\- recurrin,!:- exam- 
ples of downri.uhl swindiiuL;- piai)eiraled b_\- tia\-eliin,L;' mountebaid;s, 
WheeliiiL; is coidessedh' a most in\ ilin,!^' and prolilable lield loi' the 
displax' of all .sor;s of slrani^e medical visitors ; and no man 
or \u)inan. Irom a K^ni I'lxlur ox other (f<h//\s.\\ up to the 
nu)sl linisliLd (juack leeturer, 7 )////< 7' w/// and (^iiu r,ll. who has been 
able to t.d;e looms at a hr.-^i ciass hotel, and \ya\ hliera,ly lor lo(.,d 
editoi ial> or notices m the daii\' iiewspapeis commemhni:' consum- 
mate skill, e'c. , ha> ^one'awav witli em[)t_\ jiockeis. The success ol 
quacks, howL\er, cannot be charged to the i_unoiance ol the masses 
— loi ihe\' aie intellinen' above the a\erai:e ol cities — but \er_\- 
pi'o])cii\ to the virtuous chaiactei ol the a.ble licntkinen ol the press, 
who, without malici- alorethouL;li', as a p;;rt of their Ir.ule, habiurally 
])eiinit the use of di</ir inlluentiaj coluirnis, to aiUiie the alllicled 
credulous pcor ol both cit\' and counli}' into the net ol I'har'aian.i-m, 
where, when the\' aitj once fairly eiuanglcd, are unmeicihtlb' stripped 
ofUieii hard earn ini;s. Bui o the credit (jf these learned and most 
e.Ncellent L;tnthmen, be it sad, that they do not ahva}s patronize that 
which nor ilujse whom ilie\- unciualifiedl)' commend to ih>dr readers 
and nei^'iibors : lu-ithei' do the}' consume any of the \auntrd com- 
pounds — includinif Sir James Clark's pills (.";, whuh aie heralded 
everv da\' b\' the piess i^eiierallv. \'ei\ lar from il, indeed : nnd more 
— thev would not suffer an_\' oiie of the nifalliblc (ialdrs whom the}' 
ad\ertise and he.irlily commend to poor ' ■ sufferiuL;- humainty, " to 
enter their liomes and pie-cribi. either lor themselves, their wi\cs or 
their children : but when th(\ i^ci sick, like other sensible men, ihe\' 
employ the services of a skillul ])iiysician, and a t^entleinan whom they 
know to be not less iionorable than ihcmselves. 

\'.\cciN.\i lo.N. — 'I'he neglect of vaccination is a great and .growing 
i;vil : and scarcel}' a }ear passes thai there arc nf;l at least several 
cases of small-])o.\ rep.oitcd in the city. Last winter and spring l;j 
persons died of small-pox in its unmitigated form, several of whom, 



46 

negroes, came from Cincinnati, and the} proved to be heavy drafts on 
the city and county treasury. The office of the State Vaccine Agency is 
in Wheeling, and from this depot " (//v saids" are received and sent 
out on demand. These are no doubt collected with care, but how lar. 
really, the 7'irus thus procured and distributed is protective cannot be 
told. In the majority of instances it will make a sore arm — but what 
kind of a so "e arm is quite another question. 

Of 1,924 children examined in the public schools of the city, in 
March last, with a view of determining the amount of protection 
against small-pox by vaccination, the following was the result : 
Alales, 1,104 ; females, 820; had small-pox, 54; presented good 
marks, and therefore presumed to be i)rotected, 1,707 ; unprotected, 
as shown by the absence of mark, 1G3 

Toxicology. — Pathological conditions ]>roduced by poisonous 
agents are comparative'y of raie occurrence. Last year — 1868 — ■ 
there was one death from oj)ium eating, and one attempt at suicide 
by swallowing a teacupful of venice turpentine into which the broken 
ends of a dozen or two lucifer matches were stirred. Under the in- 
fluence of a prompt emetic, the remarkable mixture was gotten rid of, 
and the patient suffered nothing except from slight irritation of the 
urinary passages for the next few days. Thus far this year, two 
attempts at self-destruction, by means of laudanum, have been dis- 
covered ; and one case of poisoning in a child 2 years old, produced 
by Costar's cock-roach poison, has occurred. P'ortunately the poison 
in the latter case was immediately gotten rid of by spontaneous vom- 
iting ; but serious sickness at the stomach and nervous sinking fol- 
lowed for the next few hours. 

AuToi'siKS. — Permission for examining the morbid conditions of 
persons after death is unfortunately but seldom granted ; and the 
number ot such examinations annually, perhaps, does not exceed a 
halftlozen. Public predjudice, however, is beginning to give way, 
ami the future is more hopeful than the past. 

LiFK I.NSURANCK. — Tlicrc are several foreign agencies in Wheeling, 
and through these, during the past two or three years, several Inin- 
drcd policies have been granted. The whole number of life policies 
issued to residents of the city is — to males. S47 ; females, 3 ; or S.'O 
life-insured \n a population of about 24,000. The examiner's fee is 
$5, ami paid by the company to which a})plicatiou is made, wiietlier 
the candidate is j)assed or rejected. 

The business of Property Insurance is almost entirely condiietcil by 
the several home companies, all of which are well governed and most 
responsible institutions. 

Until very recently, there was no very well organized [\\\: depart- 
ment in the city, and as a consequence, much confusion with, now 
and then, frightful loss of life- -occasionally marked the historv of 
Wheeling tires, .\'aw, there is a Paid Department wliii li is su])i)lied 
with three new first class steam fire engines, purch.ised .u ihe ( ost of 
$12,000. The engine and hose houses are neatU' filted up : and at 
two or three of them there is a collection of useful books, or ihe nu- 
cleus of a Fireman's Librarv 



47 

Insane, Idiotic, etc.— There are three liarmless insane persons, 
cared for at the county Poor House, four miles from the city, one or 
the other of whom may be seen every tlay or two making the rounds 
of the streets. 

Of fooHsh persons, representing the cHtTcrent degrees of idioc)'. 
there are 10 belonging to the city ; among these are 2 females. 
With the exception of a boy 20 years of age, who is exceedingly 
vicious, these unfortunate creatures are of innocent behavior. Six of 
ihem are epileptic, and two cannot walk. 

Bund — Dk..\f Mites. — The number of blind persons does not ex- 
ceed five or six, and, in every instance, loss of sight was the result of 
disease or accident. One of the females of this class, who lost her 
sight in infancy, is well accomplished. There are but 3 deaf mutes 
in the city — all of them under 12 years of age — 2 in the same family ; 
and in neither instance can this lamentable condition be charged to 
consanguinity of marriage. The same may be said also of the parents 
of the idiotic or foolish })ersons above numbered. 

Epidetnies. 

By the assistance of several of the oldest physicians in the city, the 
following s( hedule of prevailing epidemic and enilemic disea.ses, 
from the fall of 1832 to the present, is made out : 

1832. — Late in the fall of this year, the first case of Asiatic cholera 
made its appearance in Wheeling ; several cases occurred in quick 
succession, all of which proved fatal. During the winter, it disap- 
peared 

1833. — The KUh of May, cholera reappeared, and by the 1st of 
June, so abundant had been the harvest of death in the various sec- 
tions of the city, that hundreds of people were Heeing in search of a 
place of safety from the ravages of the teirible devastator — many of 
whom were, stricken down by the wayside. Besides hundreds of cases 
of simple choleraiac diarrhcjea, 288 cases advanced to the latter stages 
of the disease. Of this number 125 were males; 123 females, and 
and 41 children, of both sexes The total number of deaths to the 
25th of June, the date of the last case reported by the Boartl of 
Health, was 153 males, 5!) ; females, 55; children, 28 ; coloreil and 
slave, 11. * 

*In thedistricts wlxrc tli.' ilisi-a^ipwas most virulflnt, viz: from the olil niiirkit house, Hiiii h.ick 
to Fourth anil Fifth streets, iiioluding .Marki't sniare, and on Market and .Main strei'ts. between 
JetTer.sonand .^damsdhe most elevated and t efore considered the most healthy location in thn 
city, the mortality bore a jiroportion to the j.opiilation of probably 2(1 jier cent. Ironi Fnion street 
to Wheeling ereek. on the w.-st side of .Main and Water streets, ;») .v,v, oftlii' disease oc-urred. 

On Saturday mornine, the Mth of dune, choliTa attai-ked the neighborini; villaire ot lindaeport, 
"The inhabitants were sei/.ed with a sudden panie and const. ■! nation, and ii f;eiieiiil ilitrlit was th e 
conse^pience. Early in the afternoon infnniiat ion was received here that sexcral deaths had 
already occurred there, and that the sick and dyinj; were without attendance or iiiedic.il aid. ime 
of our physicians and clercynian iniinedialely crossed over to render assistance. On Iheirrelurn at 
Iiinht they reported t be scene <d' distress as iievond any tlii-y had ever w itnessed— >< i . « dead and t' ii 
in a state of collapse, and iiiaiiv others in tlieinsipn^nt stajie of the disease, Sunday inoiiiiiid. 
other iih,vsicians with several benevolent citizens, went totheaid of the sntlerers. They tound 14 
dead, none of wlii<h had been laid out. In one house they found a man and his wife both dead in 
the same bed. 

Of a pojiulationof -itHI not more than .W were left, and of these there were not well iiioiikIi to 
afford aid to one-half of the sick and dvinn. In three days 22 have died of the disease,"-; II /..W/m/ 

r/«e.s .hit,, 12, ih:«. 

See also admirable pajierin the Richmonii Medical .Journal, vol. I. phrb ill, which faithfully <le- 
scribesthe visitatinnsidcholera in Wheeling, bv I)r, .M. 11. Houston, formerly of Wheelmt.', but 



48 



1S:]6 and 7. — Malis^mnnt and fata! scailot fever. 

is;j7and8. — If possible, a more tatal type ol scarlei fevi-i-, dian 
dial which presenled itseU" llie \-ear previous. In numerous instances, 
deadi occurred in the formalive sia,<je. 

1N43. — l'"pidemic inliuenza or TyLi- griplK was treneralh' preva- 
lent — hundretls of cases in the ciiy ; since the visi;ation of i;rifipe. 
pneumonia has been more common than lielore. Alxnn ihc same 
dale enteric or l}pli(_)id levc-r, presenied itself in unmista!;able foini, 
and demanded sup])orting' treaiment. I'rior lo this period inlermit- 
tent and remittent levers were common ; but since, have been eniireU' 
re])laced b\' the enteric or U'phoitl form, which, howexer, under ilil- 
ferent names, had long been kiun\n lo the j)rofession in ]"'aslein 
Ohio. 

Dr. W. |. Bates, whose earliest exfjcrience in tlu; prnftssion was 
earned in l""astern Ohio, and whose ]iractice in WheelmL^' now (.overs 
a period of over oO \ ears, sa\s : 

" In the vear ISof), a lexer pi'c'xailed in the northwestern ])arl of 
lefleison countv, Ohio. The first cases (Kcurred in the iamily of 
);;mes Kinscw in which five or si.\ deaths look place in rapid succcs- 
sinn : and fiom this f,at, the disease obtained the name, among the 
pt'ople, of " ///(' /\'/7/,V( r /(7'(7-. " .'■Sometime between is 10 arid '15, a 
ver\' falal epitlemic prex.dled in the nortlieaslcrn part of llarii.son 
countv, Ohio, tailed the " St<\(/(/- /:7\r" 1 ccaiise nian\- (amilics were 
spcdilv alt;itkcd alici' atl( nciiiig c oniinnnion service .r, a countrv 
cliui\h, near die xallagi' of Nev.' Athens, belonging to the sect of 
.'^'eccdeis. This disease bore so marki d a resemblance to the '' Kin- 
.-t \' lever as to make ii teitain that i! belonged to the same class. 

'i'he treatnu ir, em])lii)e(l v, as vi ne>extion, caldinel, bli>:ering and 
lh(.' heidit p'an gem rall\— iiii.I ihi'ii /'< n/ !//.- ol llie cu>es ditd." 

During the //(■ii.m/ii/i /hiioJ, a blending ef !\pes\\as fieipieiith 
\\i;lu^s!. d. pailHidaiU in Utaliiie.s whiih v.ere|aits ol lornier maisliv 
disti'K !s. 

l.sj? ami S. ' black tongue,* erxsipelas lever or "spoted fever" 

— (a malignant ;ti:d fatal Imni cf enteric or tvplioid lexer, no doubt . 

- -txphoid ]iiu;unionia and puerperal lexer preXcdled during iIicnc 
\ cars. 

isP). Second (liolei.i b.pidemic — which .^pread through sexeral 
xears, or up to I s.'i 1 . .\ii,h ks not xi rv numerous at .mx paiticular 
>cas( 11. but during eniue cholera ]iLiiod a large numberof liealhs 
occurred from the disea.^e. Dining die prev.ilenec^ ol ck(>Iera in 
cities and large toxvn>, boxvl complaints xxere ol great lre(paeiic\' in 
countrv disiric Is, and the same condition or predisposiiion among 
eoiinirx- peoi)Ie x\as dist imtly marked in ;!-2 and .'{ In a countiv 
di.-lrict on the If iV; ( ). K. K.. six njiles Irom Wheeling, duringMls 
last visitation, (holeni made grcMt liaxoc, |iarticularl\- among the la- 
borers on the railroad, which xvas then in process of construction. 
One section of the Work had to be abandoned lor several weeks, on 
account of the piexalence and fatality of llie disease among the wcjrk- 

*.-^i'i' intliKi-V l*nu'tii-;il Ti-iMl i-;i' im Itium-if Ki'vit— I'liiladrlpbiii. Is;"i9. pii^f b:i— in wliicli this 



49 

men. Occasional cases have since occurretl : but >:Avin,i; to their in- 
(Veqiiencv and niikiness of ch:racter, the tlis(.i;xse was calhul Cholera 
.Morbus, Duriii^MJii'se years — from lS-19 to 1851 — scarlet iever was 
also prevalent. 

IS;') I. — Hetbre, as well as subsequent to this period a ye.ir or two, 
malit^nant pustule or carbuncle, whitlow and other ill conditioned 
sub-cellular indainnialions. Ai same time, enteric or typhoid lever, 
erysipelas, puer[)er.d lever, and scarlet fever. 

]85(). — l)i[)luheria i;enerally i)revalent, and was distinctly reco;j;- 
nized by the profession. Several examples of tulancous diphlltcria 
w( re presenteil--the eyes and otlier unusual ])arls frecjuentl)- involved. 
The disease prevailed at tlie same limethroughoul the State in c(}ually 
severe form. Dr. J>iLes lirst met with dijihtheria in 1811. He says 
on this subject : " I'hree children residing- l)elo\v the city, on the 
river bank, died under my care with, whil I am now convinced was, 
diphtheria. In thes.: cases, the disorder was insidious in its ap- 
proach, and i'ean'ully ra[)i(.l in its progress. Fever, ])ain in tlu' head 
and back (the last es[)ecia!ly severe), delirium, sore throat, and lym- 
jihy deposit also on the vulva and about the anus, Deadi took [ilace 
in from three to fu'e d.ivs, Irom the oulsel ol the disease.' 

He saw the disease again in 18">7. '" i'hree children were a'.lacked 
with well markevl diphiheria following measles, ami dietl ol the 
crou])al f)iin ol the disease.' 

Dr. Robert II. Cummins iirsl met with diphtheria in his practice 
in IS-JS ,-cveral cases were under his charge, all of which i)ro\ed 
fatal. In one of these tlu; disease e.xtended t(j the larynx and tra- 
chea producing the croupal form. 

18()(). — During wiiUer — enteric or "Nphoid fever, ])neumoni,i, ery- 
sipelas, inilanimator\' rheumatism, and !re(pienl sore throa. 

18():>, 1 and ;>. ---Cercorcj-spin d mjuiugiiis. Dr. Friss:ll his 
seen cases ol this disease, " .qioited lever, so calletl, sin;e ISlVT. 
During these years the disease was more frequenllv met with than, 
ever before ; and in man\' features resembled the " black tongue, ' 
or "erysipelas lever"' of 1817, 8 and 9. 

1865. — Since this dale the city has been generally healthy, though 
every vear i)i"esen'.s its cases of fever, pneumonia, etc. 

F/rioi.oGY. — I>esides the causes of disease to lie found in the habits, 
occu])ations and conditions of the people, already alluded to in the 
foregoing pages, there are also the confessedly occull injliioici's con- 
stantly at work which, as in all other places, city and countr\-, bring 
around, in seasonible order, the comai )n bat specilie il;s • isvs - - 
whooping cough, measles, scarlet fever, iliphtheria, enteric or typhoid 
fever, etc., and niuliiply an 1 give (L'^^rees oi" intensity to conlagion * 

An e.xjierience of nearly rid years in the practice of medicine in 
the mouiuain counties of West X'irginia, has al)undautlv satisficil n\\: 
that there is not a rural district in the State, ecpial, in point ol ])opu- 
lalion. in which occur wnuwAWy so /'ciu dtjlhs /ro/n '' (oiisiiiu^'k'kdi ' as 



.Sci'.intlinr's "R'niarUs on til" contii nojsniMi i>f Enteric b'mer," puMislioil in tti.- M mH 
Itrcord t.)i- .Api-il. iwiil. 



50 

in Wheeling. How comparatively infrequent this cans? of deatfi in 
Wheeling has been shown on a preceding page. 

Our Sanitary Regulations. 

The ordinance creating a Permanent Health Ol'ficer, was adopted 
by the City Council in March, 1869. Prior to that date, sanitary 
guardianship of the city was exercised by temporary officers of health, 
whose term of service occupied the summer or warm months ; and 
consequently the most valuable ikansing time was unimproved ; be- 
sides other disadvantages which resulted to the city, not only detri- 
mental to the public health, but expensive to the city treasury. 

Under the ample powers conferred upon the Health Officer by the 
new ordinance, and taking advantage of the first weeks in April, 
when hundreds of house keepers were exchanging houses, domicil- 
iary or house to house visiting was begun, and so unremittingly 
continued, that by the 15th of May, every house and cellar, lot or 
area, privy or other out-building in the city, had been closely in- 
spected and notice given for a general cleansing, and the abatement 
of all nuisances within 10 days from the date thereof. Complaint 
books were also opened at convenient stations. 

For disinfecting and deodorizing privies ana other foul places, 
sulphate of iron or copperas, was advised by the Health Oflicer. 
But just about the time — the 2Sth of May — the city could boast of 
general cleanliness, and the street commissioner had performed the 
troublesome and difficult task of putting the streets in gootl order for 
dn'. warm weather, the greatest y/fr?^/ and most terrific hail stor?n ever 
known in this region of country, swept over the city, doing an 
amount of tlamage beyond the power of description. Besides thou- 
sands upon thousands of Ijroken windows (in many instances the 
window shutters also), the cellars in the northern and central por- 
tions of the city were filled to overilowing with water, mud and hail 
stones ; sewers were lorn up by the tlood, and the streets and alleys 
were embedded in slime and filth conse(iuent upon the mighty del- 
uge that rushed from north to south and from east t(j west. In the 
very heart of the city, immense piles of surface dttnis from the high 
grounds, comj)letely obstructed the streets ; and notwithstanding a 
large force was at once detailed to remove the accumulated lilih and 
repair the sewers, &c., it was several days before ortler and even 
tolerable cleanliness of the streets and side-walks could be secured ; 
but by the middle of June, the city was again in good sanitary con- 
dition, and with what result to the stale of public health during the 
months of Juiu', July and .\ugust, as com[)arrd with the health dur- 
in"- the same mcnilhs in former years when, the population was much 
smaller lli.m at present, a preceding labular statement has already 
shown. Surelv, "public heillh is public weillh. 







THE LARGEST STOCK OF MUSICAL INTRUMENTS EVKR KEI'T 
L\ WEST VIRGLNIA. 

Stsinway, Knabs and Emerson Pianos, 

FBOM $350 to $1600. 

Taylor & Farley, Estcy, SmtJIi and Mason tV Jlanilin Orsjans 

From .'7 UK I to sltldd. 
Violins, Banjos, Guitars, Accordeons, Bows, Sheet Music, Music l{i)okr 
Brass Baud Instruments, Strings, »tc. 
1^^ Send tor Price Lists, orctli and examiuo our stock. 

109 Market Street, Wheeling 

TO PHYSICIANS. 

\Vi3 invite tlic atttcntion oT rii\.,icians and otiu'is lo our carefully 
selecteu stock ot" 

DriES, Cleiiiicals and liiiprofed llefllsiEal Preparatioas. 

We cndr'avor lo kccji up wiili !li.-, limes. l>.v |)rovidinn lor liie use of 
riiysicians sucli i\«'%v a£<*3aM-<iSi<'s. as from time to time, are res|»eetal>ly 
and favoralily jircMMiI'd to the Profession. 

We, kee|> tlie lary,esL assortiueiU in tlie. city, of 

TRUSSES. SUri'ORTHRS, SHOULDER BK'A'-'ES. SUR(;iCAL USSTRC- 
MEXTS. .SVKMiNCES. ».V,c- 

We have Trusses admitted to every form of IIhknia, ,iud of i.nproved 
styles, which I'hysicians are requested to call and e.\amim'. 
Physicians (uders carefully and |>rom|>tly executed. 
A1)I)I,'KS.«<: 

L^Ma, LJ3T 4 lit)., 

Bridge Corner, 

\v 1 1 1:1 :n>s<i, \v . \ V. 

I'roprietorM of I lie 

EXCELSIOR BAKING POWDER, 

Sujieiior lo any in liie .M:n!vil. 



National Bank of West Vimnia, 

^T w nK liiLi rvo, 
SOUTHWEST COR. MAIiN AND MONROE ST S 
CaintaJ, ---.._ $-^00,000. 

CKISriN OGLEJBAV, President. 

J(Jiii\' VVAGNEK, Cashier. 

Will buy undscli Exebaiigu, IJ. H. Sccuritii^.s, Gold, auil G(»ld Conpnns. 
Collectinus iikuIl' oa uU Points on tlu? most Favorable Terms. 






ii^ 



Bridge Corner, Main and Maaison. 

THE HOTEL OF THE CITY OF WHEELING. 

AI. k. I-i.wi.^, Cieik . IK' (tpricfors. 

No. 144, Corner Main cuid Union Streets, 
WHEELING, VV. VA. 

Miscellaneous, Medicai aiid Lav/ Book Store 

\iiy l!iiuk iinbli.'-ln <1 ill l'liil;i(lrlplii:i, A^•^\ \\>i!,. I>.>^ nii ,^r ntinT cit.v in 
llic liiili'tl Sijilcs may >«■ li,.u ai I 'ii Mi- li« is i'lur. 

i%:;Sl B'sujX'e-, tiJ5:3:svi Siio«.-8*'-., At-. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ^l^. 



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